Birds of a Feather
by Istoria
Summary: Complete 081404 Sequel to GGM An attack at Konoha's heart sends the Leaf ninja searching for answers, chasing a phantom that seems intent on pulling the entire world into darkness.
1. Feather

Author's Notes : This is a continuation of A Golden Gray Mourning. All you need to know from that one is that Sakura is being taught by Ibiki Morino. Thanks for all the support from everyone, I hope you enjoy this one as much as the last one.

* * *

**Chapter 1**

The first rays of morning had barely crossed the horizon when Tengu Hane, matriarch of her clan, strode into the Konoha Aviary. A dozen members of the Tengu clan jumped to attention watching as she moved through the caged enclosure, carefully inspecting their work.

The menagerie sang happily as she walked. Hane may have been strict when it came to her clansmen but her love of the birds here was clear. Several years ago, radio and other technology had almost rendered the messenger birds obsolete. It was only through her tireless campaigning that the Konoha Aviary had maintained its position of prominence in the village.

Hane paused and held out her arm, letting one of the hawks land on it. The hawk gratefully took the piece of meat she had in her hand and allowed itself to be examined.

"Her wing has almost healed," Hane told the young man standing next to her.

"Nama should be able to return to full duty this week," he replied with a smile.

"And still no clue as to watch caused the injury?"

The young man shook his head. "The teeth marks weren't anything we've seen before. And Nama's memories are a jumble."

Hane nodded slowly and looked into the hawks eyes. For a moment, the Tengu bloodline technique activated, allowing Hane to enter the bird's mind. But as her subordinate had said, Nama's memories were blurry. Something that moved fast, something that's form was hard to place, something that should not have been there.

Hane frowned and handed Nama back to the young man. "At least we don't have to worry that the Inuzuka's dogs have gotten out of hand again." She reached forward and ruffled the bird's feathers slightly, smiling as the hawk pecked her hand affectionately.

"I have business with the Hokage this morning," Hane stated. "I'll be back in the afternoon. Have all the owls returned from their night hunting?"

"Hai, Hane-sama," came the chorus of replies.

Hane nodded and turned on her heel, her footsteps barely audible as the birds called out their own good byes.

* * *

"Scarlet." 

"And, in the isolation of the sky…"

"Crimson."

"At evening, casual flocks of pigeons make…"

"Maroon."

"Ambiguous undulations as they sink…"

"Brick."

"Downward to darkness, on extended wings." (1)

"This is maroon."

Sakura's head whipped around and she stared at Ibiki. He was holding up the unmarked pail of paint with a frown. "What?" she asked.

"I asked for brick. You gave me maroon. You've failed the exercise."

Sakura glared at him, eyebrow twitching slightly. "Exercise?" she snarled. "This is not an exercise!! This is… this is…"

Ibiki looked over at her with a questioning look. "This is over," he stated, placing the pail in her hand. He stood up and gently replaced the paint brush on the easel, walking back towards his office.

Sakura glared as her sensei disappeared, leaving her dangling upside down. Some exercise. When Ibiki had told her to memorize several poems, she knew he would test her on them the next morning. She did not expect, however, to have to do so while being hung upside-down, feet tied to a shelf filled with red paint cans that Ibiki insisted were different hues.

She had repeated at least a dozen poems and managed to select the right paint can and the first time she messed up, he decided to call it quits. Inner Sakura threw out a lot of nasty words at the uncaring nature of her teacher.

Outer Sakura sighed and pulled herself up, trying to ignore her stomach muscles' protests. She delicately placed the can next to the others and then slowly untied her feet. She fell gracefully to the ground and hurried after her teacher, barely sparing a glance at the easel and the painting her sensei had been working on.

"So, what did you learn?" Ibiki asked the moment she entered the room.

Sakura looked at him trying not to let Inner Sakura externalize what she was yelling. "Ummm… that there are way too many shades of dark red paint?"

Ibiki sat down and poured himself a cup of tea. "Why couldn't you select the right paint?"

Sakura let out a deep sigh and tried to think of an answer. "I was too tired?"

"Exactly," Ibiki said. "You were under duress, hanging upside down and attempting to lift heavy objects put strain on your body and eventually your mind. When our body is under pressure, our mind becomes less clear. We can't remember things we should know and can't distinguish details any more."

Sakura frowned. She hated when he actually had a point to his exercise. Sometimes, she was happy to believe that he was the sadist everyone made him out to be. But during their two months of training, Sakura slowly realized that there was more to him. He studied a lot of scrolls, mostly on war philosophy but few that were poetry. He painted, though mostly in different shades of red. And he always drank green tea at the end of their lesson.

"I'll meditate on it," Sakura settled on. He nodded and motioned that she was dismissed. Sakura bowed and ran out of the room.

She waved to a few of the other Interrogators as she walked the familiar path through the dungeons to the outside world. The people here were already accustomed to her, most of them taking a bit of time to wave back. It was nice to have that happen. Sakura was no longer another genin. Like Naruto and Sasuke-kun, she was training to be something more.

She reached outside and squinted at the burning sun. Arriving at 5:30 every morning meant that she rarely saw the sunrise before she went training with Ibiki-sensei. But it was always there to greet her as she made her way to the bridge to meet with the rest of her team.

She started to move but she collided with someone else. She apologized profusely, trying to let her eyes adjust to see who she had just offended.

"Shikamaru?" she asked. "Ah… good morning."

"Morning anyway," he replied, placing a hand on his bushy ponytail. "You going to meet your team?"

"Yeah," Sakura smiled.

"Ah," he drawled. "I'm going to the Hokage's office. It's on the way."

Sakura eyed him strangely but he ignored her and started walking away. Sakura frowned. She supposed in his language that meant to follow him. So she quickly fell into step behind him.

He didn't look at her and he didn't appear to want to talk. Sakura could only wonder why he had decided to walk with her. As a chuunin, he could ask her to help on a mission but she figured that if he needed someone, he'd look to Ino first.

"I need to ask for something," Shikamaru paused in mid thought as if he was trying to plan the next move. "You don't have to agree to it…"

"Is it a mission?" Sakura asked.

"Not really," Shikamaru replied. He continued to shuffle and Sakura starting to feel anger welling up inside her.

"Well then, what is it?"

Shikamaru frowned. "It's about Ino."

Sakura's feet came to a stop. "What about her? Is something wrong?"

"You could say that," Shikamaru replied.

"Then tell me what it is!" Sakura cried, crossing her arms. Why was he being so cryptic? After the incident a few months ago, only a true idiot would think that Sakura wouldn't do anything for her best friend.

"You know how it's September and all," Shikamaru started. "And the end of the month is her birthday." He looked like it had taking too much of his energy to state the rather obvious fact.

"I know," Sakura frowned.

"Well," Shikamaru stated, "she's having a party. And I know she wants you to come. I also know she's too stubborn to ask you herself."

"Are you telling me that this is all about going to Ino's party?" Sakura fumed.

"Yeah," Shikamaru nodded.

"From the way you were talking, I thought she was in real danger," Sakura cried.

He shrugged a bit. "Well, it is important to her and all."

"Of course I'll go," Sakura said, relieved that it was nothing serious. For a moment she saw the hint of a smile on Shikamaru's face and she had the sinking feeling that she had just done exactly what he had planned.

"That good," he replied before shuffling towards the Hokage's office. He looked over his shoulder and saw her clenching her hands in obvious frustration.

"You coming?" he asked over his shoulder. But she was already charging towards him.

* * *

Hane moved up the stairs, nodding at several of the jounin that bowed at her as she passed. She moved into the jounin meeting area, acknowledging the various good mornings that were tossed her way. As a higher ranking jounin, most of the younger ninja kept a respectful distance, something which Hane enjoyed. 

Pouring a cup of tea, she pushed aside a graying strand of hair and turned around, golden eyes resting on the familiar form of her arch rival, the head of the Inuzuka clan. The man frowned slightly but none the less nodded at her. Hane nodded back, knowing that despite their disagreements their allegiance to Konoha kept them comrades and not enemies.

Shizune suddenly appeared next to her, carrying an empty tray. She stopped and retrieved several cups of tea.

"Good morning, Hane-sama," she said politely.

"Good morning, Shizune," Hane replied. "Is the Hokage available yet?"

Shizune shook her head. "Not yet. She's got a rather irate village chieftain in there right now. It could be awhile."

"Wonderful," Hane sighed. She watched as the younger woman struggled to balance the tray of tea cups while grabbing at the pile of sugar and cup of milk. "Allow me to help," Hane said, taking the condiments in her hand.

Shizune thanked her and followed her as Hane moved up the stairs. When they arrived at the door, it was clear that the argument inside was far from over.

"I've already lost a dozen cows," the chieftain was yelling as Shizune opened the door. "And that is food that is lost to Konoha. I have to feed my village first." Shizune quickly walked in, depositing the tray of tea there while Hane waited at the door for her to retrieve the milk and sugar.

"Of course," Tsunade replied, attempting to maintain some control over the meeting while thanking Shizune at the same time. "We wouldn't expect anything less. But ninja are not wolf hunters. If you have a problem with wild animals, then there are hunters available for hire."

"No hunter will accept this job!" the chieftain called. "Our neighbors in Futari attempted to send hunters out already and those hunters never returned. They said only bits of their supplies were found."

Shizune quickly moved towards the door to take the remaining things from Hane, trying not to interrupt the argument too much.

"This is not a wolf pack, Hokage-sama," the chieftain continued. "This is something more, something evil in the woods. This is not a job for hunters anymore."

Before the Hokage could answer, the window slammed open as a strong breeze blew through. The papers on her desk scattered and Shizune quickly handed the milk and sugar back to Hane, despite the older woman's protesting look.

"Damnit Shizune! I thought that window was fixed," Tsunade yelled.

Shizune moved quickly, collecting the papers on the floor next to Tsunade. The chieftain let out a deep sigh as he sank in his seat. Hane hesitated for a moment, wondering if she should just go in and help.

There was a low call and hawk sailed through the window, landing on the desk. Hane balked a bit at the sight, eyeing the new arrival. The pattern of feathers, the curvature of the beak was all too familiar.

"Nama?" Hane whispered slightly. But the bird on the desk, despite being having the appearance of her hawk, stretched its uninjured wings out, letting out a screech.

The milk and sugar clattered to the ground as Hane moved. The bird was not Nama. She let the Tengu bloodline's power seep into her veins and she realized that it wasn't even a bird on the desk.

"HOKAGE!" she screamed, as she ran to the bird.

Shizune reacted first, her duty clear. She pushed the Hokage to the ground and covered her with her body. The chieftain's face paled and he ducked, diving under the desk just as Hane scooped up the bird and quickly turned to the window. Without a spare moment to think, Hane knew she had only one choice. She moved towards the window and jumped.

* * *

"Shikamaru! Don't think I'm stupid enough to fall for your little plots!" Sakura yelled as she stomped after him. "I don't like being manipulated into saying yes." 

Shikamaru just sighed and kept walking, trying to ignore the ranting girl next to him. She was exactly like Ino. Maybe louder.

"Are you even listening to me?"

Shikamaru had stopped walking and was looking at a round shadow on the ground. It was steadily growing, something shadows simply shouldn't do under normal circumstances.

And then he was no longer studying the ground but being pushed away as Sakura knocked him to the side and onto the ground. He landed on his back and looked up, catching a glimpse of the sky through the wisps of pink hair that danced across his eyes. He could make out a woman, falling towards him and for a moment, he thought she had wings, beautiful shining wings that stretched across the blue expanse.

Then the sky exploded and she disappeared. And all Shikamaru was left with was a surge of heat and a pounding sound inside his head.

* * *

Kakashi was drinking his morning cup of coffee, trying to wake up a bit before began his morning routine, when the sky turned orange suddenly. Before the explosion even began to abate, he was on the move. 

Judging from its location, the explosion had occurred somewhere near the Hokage's office. He knew that most of the jounin would be headed there as well and if it was an attack on Konoha, they'd start their defenses there.

The civilian evacuation alarms hadn't sounded yet, making him believe that it might be an isolated event. Reaching the Hokage's tower confirmed the idea as no enemy ninja were in sight. Instead, the jounin there were frantically attempting to secure buildings that looked close to toppling.

The Hokage's tower itself had lost most of its roof. He felt his chest constrict as he came to the conclusion that it was a single event, mostly likely with the Hokage herself as the target.

"Kakashi!"

He turned and found Hagane Kotetsu waving him over. At his feet was a familiar looking pink haired kunoichi. He quickly shifted his focus away from the tower and headed towards Kotetsu. He knelt down and looked at his student. She looked up at him with big green eyes, hands placed firmly over her ears.

Much to his surprise, another one of the rookie nine sat next to her. Nara Shikamaru looked less then pleased, hands also over his ears, a deep frown on his face. Kakashi could almost hear him mumbling about how troublesome the whole situation was.

"Are they all right?"

Kakashi turned around as Tsunade approached them.

"Hokage-sama," Kotetsu said quickly, "are you sure you should be walking around in the open?"

She waved him off as she knelt down next to two younger shinobi. "I'm not the type to hide, especially if there's work for me to do." She quickly performed a series of hand seals and leaned over, placing her hands on Sakura's forehead. A moment later, Sakura's hands dropped from her ears and she smiled.

"Thank you," she said softly Tsunade moved towards Shikamaru.

"What happened?" Kakashi asked.

Sakura shrugged. "We were just walking and I saw someone falling from the Hokage's tower. We got out of the way and then suddenly…"

"A bomb," Shikamaru added as Tsunade let go of his head. He muttered a word of thanks and stared at the smoldering pile of wreckage.

"Most likely," Tsunade frowned.

"Inside the Hokage's tower? How?" Kakashi asked.

Tsunade shook her head. "I'm not sure. There was a bird, a hawk from the looks of it, and then…"

Before she could finish, a dozen Anbu appeared around her. Kakashi instantly locked eyes with the one with a fox mask, and the other man nodded in recognition before turning his attention back to the Hokage.

"Hokage-sama, I have to insist you come with me inside. This was obviously an attempt on your life and we have to secure this area before you can move freely around it," he stated.

Tsunade looked at him. "I understand your concern, Captain. But at the moment, my skills as a medic are needed."

"I'm sorry Hokage," the Anbu Captain replied. "But as per the laws laid down by the Council, I can have you forcibly removed for your own safety."

Tsunade's eyes flared in anger. She knew he was right but it didn't mean she had to like it.

"HOKAGE!"

The group turned and watched as a group of jounin frantically waved for her attention.

She got up and quickly moved towards them, Shizune and the Anbu a few steps behind. Sakura stood up and started to head after them but Kakashi had a good grip on her shoulder and pulled her back.

Tsunade headed towards the crater the jounin had gathered around. She looked down into the hole and slowly reached an arm down. She was touching something, though Sakura couldn't make out any details. Tsunade stayed in that position while Shizune turned to the jounin and slowly shook her head.

Above the crater, a flock of hawks had taken to circling in the sky. At Shizune's reaction, they let out several long, almost mournful, cries.

* * *

(1) Poem by Wallace Stevens, _Sunday Morning_


	2. Matchmaker

Author note : Thanks Rashaka for pointing out the mistake. As a Rock Lee fan... I feel ashamed .

**Chapter 2 : Matchmaker **

Sakura quickly ran through the halls of the ninja academy. It had taken the remainder of the morning to convince the nurses she was fine now. A ruptured eardrum had been healed by Tsunade at the scene and a few cuts were not enough to keep her out of active duty.   
  
Tracking down the rest of her team had been difficult. All of the jounin were assigned to searching Konoha and the surrounding area for suspects. Most of the chuunin were trying to piece the Hokage's tower back together which left the genin to deal with the academy and the students within.  
  
Sakura peeked into the classrooms, trying to find Naruto and Sasuke. It was a wasted effort since five seconds after she arrived, a door at the far end exploded into a fireball. Clutching her fists tightly, she stormed down the hall and sure enough, there were teammates, demonstrating their skills to a squealing group of children.  
  
"If you think that's cool, wait till you see my Sexy No Jutsu!" Naruto yelled.  
  
"NARUTO!" Sakura yelled, stopping him in the middle of completing the hand sign.   
  
"Sakura-chan!" Naruto said happily. Sasuke looked up, watching her cross the room.  
  
"What are you doing?" she demanded.  
  
Naruto frowned a bit. "Sasuke and I were just showing them the techniques we know."  
  
"And you thought Sexy No Jutsu was a good one for academy children?" she yelled. Sasuke smirked as Naruto cowered. Sakura just rolled her eyes and looked at the teacher's table, seeing the lesson plan there. "Everyone, open up your scroll and start reading about basic chakra control. We'll test you on it by the end of class."  
  
The students moaned and severely muttered about the mean big forehead sensei but a sharp look from her shut them up quickly. Once her attention was off them, she turned back to glaring at Naruto.  
  
"But Sasuke started it!"  
  
"Don't blame Sasuke-kun!" Sakura hissed. "I know that he would be more responsible then that."  
  
Sasuke, for his part, was enjoying the fact that in Sakura's eyes he was perfect. This once, anyway. Most of the time it just annoyed him but the way Naruto was squirming was just priceless.  
  
Sakura finally relented and turned her attention back to the class. They quickly moved their eyes back to the scroll but it was obvious they weren't really concentrating. Sakura couldn't blame them. All the excitement of the morning was making it hard to keep them in line. She could see them shifting in their seats, exchanging notes, and snickering.  
  
"Look," she whispered to her teammates, "I give these kids about two hours before we've lost complete control of them."  
  
"How do you mean?" Naruto asked. A moment later a crumpled piece of paper hit him on the side of the head. He looked up but the class acted innocent. He frowned and turned back to Sakura. "What's your plan?"

* * *

"Pass the ball!!" Sakura screamed at one of her kids. The little boy jumped and passed it to a teammate who quickly scored. Sakura jumped up with joy and looked across the field. "Take that Ino-PIG!" Next to her Naruto was yelling off similar insults.  
  
"This was a good idea," Hinata's soft voice whispered behind her.  
  
"Thanks Hinata," Sakura smiled. "I figured that bringing them outside would work better."  
  
Hinata nodded silently and watched as the academy class continued to play soccer. They had divided them into two teams, her and Sakura's class playing against Ino's and Neji's with Shino acting as a referee. With frequent substitutions and the loud rivalry between Sakura and Ino, the kids were actually enjoying themselves. And if luck stayed with them, by the time lunch rolled around they should be exhausted enough to spend the afternoon just sitting around.  
  
"SUBSTITUTION!" Ino yelled and pushed Chouji onto the field and towards the goal. He quickly settled between the posts and performed several hand seals, transforming into his meat tank form.  
  
"What the…" Sakura started.  
  
"NO FAIR!!" Naruto screamed. "Sakura-chan, substitute me in!"  
  
"Like you could do anything useful," Sasuke retorted.  
  
"Substitution!" Sakura called and quickly pushed both of them as she waved over a couple of the children attackers to the sidelines. "Both of you, get past Chouji!"  
  
Her teammates quickly ran to the field, waiting for Shino to signal the restart of the game. Next to her, Kiba was demanding he be placed in as well but the whistle rang and the game started up again before she could reply.  
  
It was unclear who was cheering louder at the point, the genin or their students. The entire field fell silent as Naruto drove the ball towards the goal and blasted it right towards Chouji.   
  
Sakura covered her eyes, already very aware of what would happen. The ball bounced off Chouji and ricocheted back at Naruto, nailing him in the head and sending him back several feet. There was a collective groan in the crowd followed by Shino's whistle blow to stop play to give Naruto a chance to recover.  
  
"Substitution!" Ino and Kiba screamed. Sakura was about to protest but at seeing Ino's side empty out onto the field, she quickly grabbed Hinata's hand and pulled her in.  
  
"Sa…Sakura!" Hinata protested.  
  
"Just stand in the goal," Sakura replied, quickly ushering children to the side. "Kiba and I'll protect it too."  
  
"Don't worry Hinata!" Kiba smiled, flashing a toothy grin. "We won't let anything… HEY!"  
  
Kiba whirled and quickly took off after Rock Lee, trying to catch him before he got any further.   
  
"Watch me, Sakura!" Rock Lee sang out happily and passed the ball, arcing it up into the air towards Neji. Midway there, Sasuke managed to leap up and get a head on it.  
  
"Good job, Sasuke-kun!" Ino and Sakura sang out simultaneously.  
  
"Ino-pig! He's on my team!!"  
  
"Doesn't mean I can't cheer for him, forehead-girl!"  
  
"Ino! Ball!!" Tenten called out as she passed the ball to the blonde. Ino quickly snapped back into reality and managed to stop the ball before it sailed out. She quickly got it under control and started edging towards the other goal.  
  
Sakura took off, heading towards Ino as fast as she could. Suddenly Rock Lee caught up to her, blocking her and jumping around to keep her in place.  
  
"AH! Lee-san!!" she protested trying to get free of his trap.  
  
Naruto headed towards Ino, summoning several of his clones to tackle. But Ino quickly kicked the ball away just before they collided. Neji was the recipient and he moved quickly, bypassing Kiba's defense almost instantly before kicking the ball at the goal.  
  
Sakura's cringed as she saw the ball hurtling towards Hinata. Her idea had been that no one would kick the ball too hard at the sweet and shy girl. Of course, she had neglected to realize that her hot blooded, borderline homicidal cousin was on the other team.  
  
There was a large smacking noise and Sakura cracked open an eye. There was Hinata, still standing, her Byakugan activated and the ball nestled in her arms. She looked shocked at the fact that she was still alive. Kiba and Naruto were yelling as they arrived next to her and celebrated.  
  
Sakura smiled and was about to join them when she noticed a figure that the edge of the field, long black jacket billowing slightly in the wind. She saw Sasuke near her, looking at the same thing she was. He turned to face her and she motioned that she had to leave. He frowned but nodded none the less.  
  
Naruto and Kiba were still celebrating, alternating between making fun of Neji to congratulating Hinata, who had turned a deep red by now. Shino blew the whistle a few times and the game resumed. But by then Sakura had already left with Ibiki.

* * *

"The rest of my workers were reassigned," Ibiki said as they descended down the stairs. It was the first words he had spoken but Sakura had had a feeling that was the reason he had collected her. So she smiled, trying not to regret being taken away from her friends.  
  
"What do you need me to do?" she asked, skipping down the steps to keep up with his long stride.  
  
He turned into his office and motioned to the pile of scrolls that were sprawled across his desk and slowly pouring onto the floor. He was talking but Sakura was a little afraid to hear exactly what he needed her to do.  
  
"You're good at organizing things like this so I want you to find any reference to the Tengu clan and make notes," Ibiki was saying.  
  
Sakura blinked. "The Tengu clan?"  
  
Ibiki paused. "The woman who died today was from there."  
  
"You think they're involved?"   
  
Ibiki took in a deep breath and looked at her. "I hope not."  
  
Before she could ask what he meant, he walked out the door. Sakura let out a sigh and turned to the task at hand. She reached out and tugged on a scroll only to have the entire pile collapse and bury her feet.

* * *

"It was tied!" Ino yelled.  
  
"Feh, we won fair and square," Naruto said.  
  
"That's only because you're counting points from when the kids were playing," she yelled back.  
  
"Man, she's loud," Kiba said, scratching behind his ears.  
  
Chouji stopped munching long enough to shoot off a response. "You don't know the half of it." He paused and when he was sure she wasn't paying attention. "Sometimes, I wish we'd gotten Hinata instead, all quiet and…"  
  
He didn't finish his statement as Ino's head whipped around and her eyes glared at him. He looked a bit sheepish and quickly went back to munching.  
  
"So you're paying for the ramen right?" Naruto asked, bringing the conversation to the important matter they had been discussing.  
  
"We would be," Ino snapped, "if you had won. But we were tied. So no one pays for the other team."  
  
Naruto began to whine and behind him Sasuke sighed, turning to Chouji. "Hinata or Shino," he added.  
  
Chouji laughed through his chips and Kiba smiled at the idea that his teammates were such a hot commodity. A few steps behind, Neji scoffed at the discussion and then tried to ignore the fact that his male teammate was still relating how his defense on Sakura had been an expression of true love in disguise.  
  
"Hey, what's that?" Tenten asked, bring all the conversations to a halt.  
  
In the corner of the market, a large multi-colored tent had been set up. There were a few torches outside to illuminate the way in. A wooden post held an elegant banner that proudly spelled out the business of the occupants.  
  
Suddenly Ino squealed. "A matchmaker!!" She ran up and looked at the sign. "World Famous Matchmaker Mabaroshi is here to help you find your true love. Success rating of 92 percent!"   
  
Naruto eyed the entire scene warily. He stomped towards Ino and grabbed her hand. "Food first, stupid stuff later," he settled on.  
  
"Stupid?" Ino shrieked. "Only an idiot like you would think ramen is more important then finding true love!"  
  
Naruto frowned. "I thought you were all ready in love with your dear 'Sasuke-kun'."  
  
Ino feet slowed a bit as she realized her mistake. Chouji visibly cringed, remember what happened every time Shikamaru had shown her errors in her logic. Ino didn't like being proven wrong.  
  
And sure enough, a second later, she started yelling and Naruto had to run to avoid the blows.

* * *

"The Tengu clan has been here a long time," Sakura said when Ibiki resurfaced many hours later. "I guess I can see why you wouldn't want them involved."  
  
Ibiki nodded and took a seat at his now cleared desk. "So what else did you learn?"  
  
Sakura looked at her notes. "Well, they were here either before or right around the time Konoha was founded. They were strong supporters of the first Hokage, a few have even served on the council. They intermarried into a lot of the main Konoha families but for whatever reason they never sought the seat of Hokage themselves."  
  
"You're surprised by that?" Ibiki asked.  
  
"Well, it's like they spent all this time gaining all these allies but there was never really a reason… well maybe until recently."  
  
Ibiki looked up at her, waiting for her to continue. But the look on her face was perplexed as if she didn't know if she should say something or not.  
  
"Why was that?" he asked, hoping it would prompt her to speak.  
  
"There was a big discussion about whether or not to keep the hawks as a primary form of communication for the village. With radio and everything, they've become a bit redundant. The Tengu leader managed to convince them to keep them, mostly due to the fact that there was so much support among the Shinobi. Sandaime dropped the proposal soon after that." Sakura crinkled her nose. "It just seems a bit excessive to garner that much support to just to use it in a situation like that."  
  
"Animal companions are very important to shinobi," Ibiki pointed out.  
  
"I know that," Sakura replied. "But it was like Sandaime was going to banish the hawks from ever being used. It was just a matter of practicality, really. Everyone was using radios for team mission by then anyway. It was more a question of how to communicate across the village."   
  
Ibiki watched her as her face contorted into a few emotions. "You're not satisfied."  
  
Sakura shook her head. "It doesn't… sit right, I guess. I just don't understand why they worked so hard to get themselves all this support if they weren't after the Hokage's seat."  
  
Ibiki nodded. He had had similar feelings himself but hadn't wanted to act on them. "You have a list of all the families allied with Tengu?"  
  
Sakura nodded, handing it to him. The man frowned as he read it over, taking note of a few names on the list he wished were not there.   
  
"Are they going after the Hokage?" Sakura asked softly.  
  
Ibiki looked at her. "I don't know yet. And I don't want to jump to conclusions." He rolled the scroll close and put it in his pocket. "We need to go talk to the Tengu clan."  
  
"We?" Sakura asked.  
  
He nodded. "I wanted you to be up to speed on the situation before we went. I need someone to look for a few things and they're less likely to suspect a genin of snooping."  
  
Sakura nodded firmly. "What do I have to do?"

* * *

Ino waved good bye to the rest of the dinner group as they left the Ramen bar. They had mentioned something about a movie but she was following Naruto's advice. Food first, stupid stuff later.  
  
Not that it was stupid at all. Naruto was stupid for pointing out the minor flaw in her words. Obviously she knew Sasuke-kun was for her, she just wanted proof. If a matchmaker with a 92 percent success rating would speak on her behalf, she was a lock for the role of Mrs. Uchiha.  
  
Not that she told anyone where she was going. She knew they might laugh at her but she really felt drawn to the tent. She ignore the little voice inside her head warning her that the matchmaker might not say what she wanted to hear or that something felt very wrong about the whole thing.  
  
Instead Ino marched right in, preparing to demand to be seen immediately. The moment she did, she was assaulted with smoke and smells so strong they almost made her eyes water. She stumbled back, trying to search for fresh air but someone blocked her way outside.  
  
"Hello dearie, are you here to see the matchmaker?"  
  
Ino nodded, still trying to clear her head. A few second later, the feeling of suffocation faded and Ino felt calm. The older woman smiled at her, watching her eyes slowly dilate.  
  
"Then come sit by me and we shall talk."  
  
"Can you…" Ino started, pausing as she felt how thick the words felt on her tongue. "Can you help me find…"  
  
"Yes," Mabaroshi said, moving across the floor, a withered hand on Ino's arm. The bells on her belt tinkled melodically and Ino watched them with a smile.  
  
"Tell me about him," Mabaroshi whispered, pulling a chair next to her and sitting down.  
  
Ino nodded seriously. "He's got dark hair. Dark eyes. Intelligent. The best ninja in our group…"  
  
Ino slowly trailed off without realizing it. Mabaroshi smiled. "Then I'll have to see what I can do." She paused. "There's a price."  
  
"I'll get money."  
  
Mabaroshi smiled. "Not money."

* * *

Shikamaru let out a long and deep sigh as he walked down the road, finally having been relieved of duty. Being a chuunin truly sucked, he decided, never mind that everyone was so happy and proud of him. It wasn't worth the extra work and responsibility.  
  
Halfway home, he came across a familiar figure walking across the road. He watched as she stumbled a bit, head looking up to the sky.  
  
"Ino?" he called out.  
  
She stopped and looked at him. "Shika-kun?"  
  
His brow furrowed as he walked up to her. "What's wrong?"  
  
She looked at him funny for a moment before shaking her head clear. "Nothing… sorry, I thought…" She paused. "Never mind."  
  
"What are you doing out here?"  
  
She looked at him and shrugged. "I was out the dinner with the gang. Then I had to go home to help mom clean the shop."  
  
"Dinner?" he asked. "But it's almost 10 o'clock at night."  
  
Ino blinked back in surprise. "No it's not."  
  
Shikamaru pulled out his watch and showed it to her. She frowned. "It's broken," she replied while searching for her own watch. Much to her dismay, she saw it read the same time.  
  
"What…" she trailed off.  
  
"Did you fall asleep in the park again?" he asked.  
  
"I don't think so. I was at dinner and then…" Ino paused and tried to remember what she was going to say. "Then I was here."  
  
Shikamaru rolled his eyes and grabbed her arm. "You must have fallen asleep. You need to get home before your parents start freaking out."   
  
He led her home and she didn't protest. He shot a few glances over at her, looking for signs of illness or injury but there was nothing. When they reached the door, Inoshi was sitting on the porch, pretending to enjoy the evening rather then look like he was waiting for his daughter. He winked at Shikamaru as he led her inside though the reason behind that was a mystery.  
  
Shikamaru looked down the road towards his house and frowned. It had been a long day, he just wanted to go to sleep. But there was something off about the way Ino had acted and he knew it would bother him to no end. So instead, he turned and walked towards the familiar house near his and Ino's.  
  
Picking a few stones off the ground, he hurtled them towards the window of his friend. It only took a few before the light flickered on and Chouji stumbled to the door, wearing his large night shirt.  
  
"Shikamaru, what the hell's wrong?" he yawned.   
  
"I need to talk to you," Shikamaru said.  
  
Chouji looked at the clock and frowned. Practice was before daybreak tomorrow and Shikamaru knew that. So it must be important. He motioned his friend up while he went back into his room to find something to snack on.  
  
"Thanks," Shikamaru said. "It's about Ino."  
  
"When isn't it," Chouji smiled, settling onto the bed.  
  
"Not like that," Shikamaru sighed. "Look, about tonight… did anything weird happen?"  
  
Chouji paused in his munching. "Weird for our group?"  
  
"Weird for Ino."  
  
Chouji shrugged. "Not really. We took care of the academy kids, went out to dinner and then to a movie after." He paused. "Ino didn't go. She said something about helping her parents with the store. Most of the guys figured she snuck back to the matchmaker."  
  
"The what?" Shikamaru asked.  
  
"I don't know, some weird old tent set up in the market. Had a sign for a matchmaker and you know how Ino is about things like that."  
  
Shikamaru frowned. Ino hadn't mentioned that. It was worth checking out but obviously not tonight. He stood up and straightened his jacket. "Thanks. I'll see you in the morning."  
  
"You're not going to tell me what this is about?" Chouji asked.  
  
Shikamaru paused at the window and shrugged. "It's probably nothing." He jumped out the window and headed home, repeating that last sentiment but not believing it in the slightest. 


	3. Hunter

**Chapter 3 : Hunter**

"So I told her, with skills like hers, she'll go real far."  
  
The assembled group laughed at the end of the joke, tipping sake bottles and spilling ashes all over the forest floor. The camp fire burned slowly in the background, providing heat and light in the cool September night. A rabbit roasted slowly on a spit, its meat picked at by the men as they paused from joke telling to enjoy their dinner.  
  
A black Labrador nuzzled its owner's hand, begging for the bit of meat there. He looked down at it and tousled its ears with a smile. "Yes, yes, here you go," the owner said, letting the dog lick his fingers clean. "You did well today so you deserve a treat."  
  
"Well enough anyway," another hunter replied. "I won't say I'm not glad for the hordes of pheasants and rabbits we brought in. They'll bring us a pretty penny. But I was hoping for the real prize."  
  
"Then you're a fool," the third hunter said. "No team has come back from that hunt."  
  
"It's just a ploy to keep people away."  
  
The dog at his feet suddenly shot its head up. The hunters fell silent as the dog sniffed the air. Around them, the rest of the pack was on its feet, sniffing around them.  
  
"Do you smell that?"  
  
"It's… sweet…"  
  
The dogs began to bark and growl, several started to back up. The hunters reached for their bows just as the trees in front of them moved. At first it looked like there was nothing there. Then its shape became clear. But by then, all the hunters were dead.

* * *

The Tengu Aviary loomed in front of her, its height barring the sun's morning rays from blinding her anymore. Sakura attempted to enjoy the view but Ibiki was already several steps ahead of her.   
  
She moved quickly, catching up with him. Ibiki arrived at the door, knocking it gently after a moment's paused. A few seconds later, it slid open revealing a tall, skinny elderly man.  
  
The man's eyes locked onto Ibiki, the trace of a scowl on his face. "Good morning, Ibiki-san."  
  
Ibiki bowed, Sakura following suit. "Good morning, Tengu-sama. Please accept my condolences on the loss of your sister."  
  
The other man stiffened even more. "She died for her village, as she would have wanted." He paused for a moment. "If you have come to pay your respects, the service will be held this afternoon."  
  
"I have, unfortunately, not come for that alone," Ibiki stated. "I wanted the chance to speak with you about certain matters."  
  
Sakura watched as Tengu's grip increased on the door. "What matters would those be?"  
  
Sakura could feel the tension between them. She watched Ibiki, trying to understand what he would do next. Ibiki had seen the way Tengu reacted, knew that the other man was not deaf to the whispered rumors of a conspiracy in the village.  
  
"There have been rumors," Ibiki said firmly. "And they've reach the ears of my cousin."  
  
Tengu blinked in surprise, the grip of his hand on the door loosening. "Anna-san?" He shook his head. "Of course, I forgot that she was your cousin. Then I trust you have come here to eliminate those rumors."  
  
"It wouldn't do to have the Tengu clan questioned when at the same time they mourn a hero to our village."  
  
Sakura watched as Tengu's entire demeanor changed. It occurred to her why Ibiki looked so displeased with the list of families Tengu had married into. Obviously, his was one of them. There was a quick hand movement as they entered and Sakura missed a step as she saw it. Ibiki had just given her the signal to go ahead.   
  
"Ano," she said, smiling sheepishly. "I'm really sorry but is there a bathroom nearby?"  
  
Tengu looked at her before nodding and giving her directions. She smiled politely and bounced off, just turning the corner as Ibiki asked for tea. That should give her more then enough time to put Operation Little Lost Girl into effect.

* * *

Shikamaru kicked the defenseless rock several feet down the road. He hated being in a bad mood. He hated, even more, that the reason for it was a small knot of worry in his stomach. So rather then spend the last few peaceful moments of the morning staring at the sky, he was headed towards the market which would no doubt be completely swamped with noisy people.  
  
He sighed, trying to figure out who to blame. Ino for not being careful again or Chouji for not being able to alleviate his fears last night. In the end, he realized he only had himself to blame.  
  
He came to a stop in front of the obnoxiously vibrant tent. With a shake of his head, he pulled aside the door and stepped inside.  
  
There was a smell in the air that he couldn't place, a mixture of individual items he would have been able to pinpoint instantly alone. But mangled together, he could only describe it in loose terms.  
  
"Hello!" a happy voice chirped out at him.  
  
An elderly woman appeared, her clothes somehow matching and clashing with the tent at the same time. She whirled towards him, bells jingling on her belt.  
  
"My, my, a young man. Usually I get young ladies but it's nice to see a man take charge of finding himself a wife, even at such a young age."  
  
Shikamaru's mood shifted from stunned to annoyed quickly. "I'm not here to find a wife."  
  
"Oh!" Mabaroshi smiled. "Then a lover… perhaps a young man."  
  
Shikamaru turned several shades of red. "No! I'm not…" He paused and shook his head clear. "I'm here for a friend."  
  
Mabaroshi nodded knowingly. "I see, a 'friend'. And what does this 'friend' need from the greatest matchmaker in the world."  
  
Shikamaru fought to control himself from yelling again. "My friend, she lost an earring last night." Mabaroshi looked unimpressed. "She's blonde about my height…"  
  
The older woman interrupted him before he could finish. "I'm sorry, Shikamaru-kun, but I wasn't even open last night. However, if I see it, I'll let you know"  
  
Shikamaru eyed the woman's smile and then finally let out a begrudging word of thanks. He left the tent, ignoring the woman's attempts to keep him there to make a match. He had no interest in things like that anyway.  
  
Besides, he had other things to worry about. If Ino wasn't here last night then where the hell was she for three hours? He should ask some of the jounin patrols if they had seen her asleep in the park, but he felt he already knew the answer would be no.  
  
He moved towards their meeting place, his pace slowing as he thought things through. Where was Ino last night? Why couldn't she remember anything that happened?   
  
Shikamaru's feet suddenly came to a stop as he formed the next question in his mind. How did the matchmaker know his name?

* * *

Sakura remembered the map Ibiki had shown her and the path to the aviary. She moved quickly, passing through halls and taking a few extra halls in order to avoid the more crowded places of the Tengu compound.  
  
She smelled the aviary long before she got there, a mix of bird droppings and grain. She slowed her pace, edging her way towards the open wooden doors. She paused, making sure no one was around before stepping outside.  
  
The chain link walls stretched open into the sky. Large trees brushed the top, straining for freedom while the birds seemed not to care that their sky was partially enclosed. The noises started as soon as she entered but Ibiki had warned her about that. So when the three ninja appeared in front of her, her mind was already into her role.  
  
"I'm so sorry!" she cried. "I was looking for the bathroom and I got lost."  
  
The ninja examined her for a moment, not sure what to do. They continued to look at her but it took a few moments for Sakura to realize that they were really concentrating on what was behind her.  
  
"She came in with Ibiki. A genin escort, nothing important. " the man at the door said. The other three relaxed a bit. "Go back to your jobs or else you'll miss lunch again."  
  
The three disappeared and the man returned his attention to her. He had golden eyes and brown hair like the rest of the Tengu clan exhibited. His sharp nose and hollow cheekbones added more to the birdlike qualities. And he was tall, taller then Sasuke though he couldn't have been much older then any of them.  
  
"Your name?" he asked.  
  
"Haruno," she answered politely, making sure to keep up the shy and demur act. "Sakura Haruno."  
  
He nodded and responded with his own name. "Taka, assistant to the Bird Keeper. And lost is not close to what you are."  
  
She blushed a bit and sighed. "I was never good with directions. And when I saw where I had ended up, I couldn't help but come and take a peek."  
  
He nodded. "The Aviary is impressive. Have you seen any of our hawks?"  
  
"Only some glimpses in the tree."  
  
Taka paused, looking at the door. "I guess a few more minutes of being lost wouldn't hurt." He whistled and Sakura ducked as something swooped over her head and landed on his arm. The hawk ruffled its feathers a bit before accepting the bit of meat Taka had produced.  
  
"He's so beautiful," Sakura said.  
  
"She," Taka corrected. "This is Saya, one of younger messenger birds."  
  
Sakura nodded appreciatively as she pondered how to steer the question to where she needed it to go. "How old is she?"  
  
"Two years," Taka said. "We train them from birth but won't let them go into the field until after a couple of years of training."  
  
Sakura looked at the bird with concern. "Do they ever get hurt?"  
  
Taka nodded. "Unfortunately. But sometimes we're lucky and we can help them heal."  
  
"Really?" Sakura asked.  
  
"Sure." Taka paused and looked around. "There, see that one on the low branch. That's Nama. She was hurt recently but she should recover in a few more weeks."  
  
Bingo! Inner Sakura cried. Outer Sakura looked over to where he indicated and let out a sad sound. "The poor thing," she said, easing her way towards it. She stood in front of the bird and looked at it.  
  
Behind her, Taka had let Saya fly off and was hurrying towards her side. "Careful. Even injured, Nama can deliver a nasty attack."  
  
Sakura nodded appreciatively while took in all the details of the bird, memorizing the pattern of feathers just as Ibiki had instructed her to do. Now, all she needed was a feather and she could go back.  
  
"Taka!"  
  
The male voice echoed through the aviary and all the bird suddenly fell silent. Taka quickly fell to attention and the three other Tengu clan members reappeared. The older man was not looking at them however, he was staring at her.  
  
"Who is that?" he demanded.  
  
"Haruno Sakura," Taka responded crisply. "She came in with Ibiki but got lost when she went to the bathroom."  
  
For reasons unknown to her, it seemed to make the senior Tengu even madder. "The Interrogator's student? You let her in here?"  
  
Taka looked a bit perplexed. "I didn't… she…"  
  
But the man was already walking towards her. Before Sakura had a chance to react, he grabbed her by the forearm. "What are you doing here? Spying on us to report back to your sensei?"  
  
"I just… got lost," Sakura protested, trying to get free. Her eyes were watering and she wasn't entirely sure it was part of the act.  
  
"I'm not as stupid as these children," the man yelled. "I know what you Interrogator filth are like, too bored now that the land is at peace, you'd settle for turning your methods on your own village."  
  
"Father!" Taka protested, grabbing his arm. "She's just a genin."  
  
"You think that matters?" he asked, dropping Sakura onto the ground. Sakura's thoughts were a blur but one was clear. Her hand clinched the ground and she felt one of Nama's feathers there. She quickly took it and placed it in her kunai pouch as she stood up.  
  
"Get her out of here and then we'll talk about your punishment, Taka."  
  
Taka nodded and quickly grabbed Sakura's wrist, dragging her through the maze of hallways until he reached the place where the Tengu leader was meeting with Ibiki.  
  
"What going on?" Tengu asked.  
  
"She got lost," Taka stated firmly. "And ended up in the Aviary."  
  
Tengu looked at Ibiki before replacing his cup on the table. "Get out," he said firmly.  
  
Ibiki didn't move. "Tengu-sama, you're being irrational."  
  
"No, I was being irrational when I overlooked your profession in light of your cousin's marriage into our clan. I should have known your intentions couldn't have been good. And that the Interrogators wouldn't think twice to stoop low enough to send a young girl to do their work."  
  
"Exactly what are you implying?" Ibiki asked coolly.  
  
"Get out of my house," Tengu replied.  
  
Ibiki stood up and looked at Tengu one more time before turning to Sakura. "Let's go."  
  
Sakura nodded dumbly and quickly followed Ibiki out, neither speaking a word until they were clear of the compound. It was only then that Ibiki asked her whether she had completed her task.   
  
She described the bird as best she could and then pulled out the feather, giving it to him but not looking at his face. He looked at her for a few moments before telling her she had done a good job. Then he turned to leave.  
  
"Why?" she asked suddenly. "Why did you really want me to come?"  
  
"I already told you, I needed someone to find a feather of the bird named Nama and as a genin you would more then likely be ignored."  
  
"You could have pulled someone off for a couple of hours," she said. "There are chuunin who work for you only a few years older then me who could have just disguised themselves as genin."  
  
Ibiki looked at her, nothing giving away his emotions. "Consider it your final warning."  
  
"Final warning of what?" she asked.  
  
"I won't make illusions about how the life of someone in my field is. Its better you learn this sooner rather then later." And with that he turned and left.  
  
Sakura watched him go, his words echoing in her head. All those months of training with Ibiki-sensei and she had never considered exactly what he was training her to be. Yes, she knew the stories about him, how his techniques were so terrifying that sometimes the mere mention of his name was enough to make an enemy shinobi confess. But that was not the Ibiki-sensei she knew.   
  
He was right though. The Tengu clan wasn't the only group distrustful of the Interrogators. Kakashi-sensei hadn't been exactly pleased with her assignment to him. Even Sasuke-kun had looked unhappy every time she left with Ibiki-sensei.  
  
But why? There were Anbu, trained killers and assassins who were known for their ruthless efficiency. Then there were the Hunter-nin, who moved like shadows as they tracked down traitors. There had been a police force, though its forces had been greatly reduced in recent years, who had never failed to capture their criminal, Konoha shinobi or otherwise. What made the Interrogators that much different?  
  
She put her hand on her arm, already feeling the bruises forming there as she frowned. Her mind flashed back to the soccer game with her friends yesterday and she couldn't help but wonder if in the future, even they would turn against her if she followed Ibiki-sensei.  
  
She sat down on the ground and looked out at Konoha, not really knowing what to do next.

* * *

"Yo," Chouji called out, shuffling towards Shikamaru. "What's up?"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
Chouji paused his munching and eyed Shikamaru closely. "You look real out of it, even for you."  
  
"I was thinking," Shikamaru answered.  
  
Chouji didn't look like he thought that that was all going on with his friend, but he let it drop. "Hokage has a mission for us. Asuma-sensei is still out so she wants you to lead it." He handed over the scroll, watching as Shikamaru read through it.   
  
"Great," Shikamaru sighed. "Some hunters get lost in the forest and we have to go find them."  
  
Chouji kept munching. "Maybe they'll have some fresh meat for us to bring home for dinner."  
  
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at his friend, who simply shrugged. Shikamaru just shook his head and shuffled towards Ino's, deciding that every team needed an optimist and Chouji definitely qualified for that in his own way.  
  
Ino wasn't at home so they made their way to the only other place she would be in the middle of the day. As they approached the flower shop, Chouji and Shikamaru couldn't shake the feeling that something was very odd. It took a while for them to place their feeling of discomfort but they soon realized it was related to the silence that surrounded the place.  
  
Inside, Ino was sitting at the register, looking rather despondently at the door as they entered. She brightened a bit as they entered and then waved at them enthusiastically. Chouji and Shikamaru merely stood rooted at the floor.  
  
"Why isn't she yelling at us?" Chouji finally ventured.  
  
Ino stomped her foot and put her hands on her hips, trying to get their attention.  
  
"Remember that trip to the Inari shrine we took when we were kids," Shikamaru whispered. "And that wish we made… looks like it finally came true."  
  
A flower pot was hurled at his head and Shikamaru barely managed to escape a concussion. Chouji walked over calmly and read the note in Ino's hand.  
  
"She lost her voice last night," he stated.  
  
"Is that even possible?" Shikamaru asked, dodging another pot. "Guess she can't come on the mission then."  
  
Ino shook her head quickly and tried to write another note but Shikamaru caught her arm. "You're not going," he stated firmly. "Without your voice, how would you call jutsus out anyway?"  
  
Ino bit her lip and looked like she was about to cry but Shikamaru shook his head firmly. She batted her eyes and looked pleadingly at him.  
  
"Not even sexy Ino is going to work this time," he said, walking away. "Come on, Chouji, we need to get a temporary third."

* * *

"Me?" Hinata squeaked.  
  
Shikamaru looked at her and tried not to sigh. It hadn't been his idea, really. He needed a Hyuuga and Neji would have done nicely. But then Chouji had mentioned something about how it might be a good idea to give the Hyuuga girl a chance. He didn't really argue, knowing that a low level mission like this either Hyuuga would do fine. Besides, Chouji had a way with people so if he thought that she could use a mission like this, then who was Shikamaru to argue.  
  
"It'll cut our search time in half," Shikamaru stated.   
  
"I think we should go with you," Kiba said quickly. Hinata shrank a bit more as her teammates shifted towards him.  
  
"We just need Hinata," Chouji said, hands suddenly devoid of food. "Unless you think she's not capable of taking care of herself."  
  
Shikamaru smirked as Kiba backed off quickly. Hinata simply nodded and promised that she'd be back soon. If he hadn't known any better, Shikamaru would have said that Hinata looked a bit happy at being taken along. Guess Chouji had been right.  
  
They moved quickly out of Konoha, settling into a fast pace as they raced through the trees around town. Throwing a look over his shoulder, he saw the veins in Hinata's eyes pushing up through her skin as she searched the area for signs of the missing hunters.   
  
After an hour of searching, she suddenly signaled she had found something. "To the east," she whispered slowly, her voice suddenly devoid of the normal stuttering. "It's not human… maybe dogs though."  
  
Shikamaru nodded and sent Chouji to the right so they could circle in. Hinata stayed a few feet ahead of Shikamaru, stopping only once she saw Chouji had reached his position. Shikamaru strained his eyes and sure enough, saw a few dogs circling an abandoned camp sight. He signaled an all clear and the trio jumped down from the trees, searching briefly before relaxing into conversation.  
  
"There's meat," Chouji said, eyeing the stockpile of rabbits. "Not skinned, still fresh and starting to rot."  
  
Shikamaru frowned. He knew Chouji wasn't merely talking about food. The hunters wouldn't just leave behind their livelihood. And if it was starting to rot, then it must have been left here since at least last night.  
  
"Hinata, anything in the area?" he asked.  
  
The young girl's head didn't move but she answered none the less. "There's nothing. Just…" She trialed off, her eyes suddenly concentrating on one of the dogs that was approaching her. "There's something wrong," she said suddenly.  
  
Both Shikamaru and Chouji slipped into a defensive position, watching as Hinata slowly reached for her kunai as the dog approached her.  
  
"Hinata," Shikamaru said, trying to catch her attention.  
  
"They don't look like Akamaru," she said softly, taking a step backwards. The dog snarled at her words.   
  
"Up into the trees!" Shikamaru yelled, just as the dog lunged. Hinata made it, just avoiding the attack but the remaining dogs dragged Shikamaru and Chouji back down. Shikamaru let out a string of unpleasant words as he kicked the dog squarely in the face.  
  
He started to make his way towards Chouji but the dog had recovered, grabbing his pant leg and pulling backwards. Hinata suddenly landed behind him and struck at the eye of the dog with the palm of her hand. It staggered backwards and fell to the ground, shaking and collapsing into a lifeless heap.  
  
Shikamaru jumped up and turned to Chouji, only to find another Hinata performing the same attack. The one next to him disappeared into a puff of smoke. The one near Chouji disappeared a moment later.  
  
If those were Hinata's clones then where was she? He ran over and helped Chouji up, looking for any trace of Hinata. She was no where in sight. And worse, there were still two dogs at least that were missing.  
  
He pulled out the radio from his pocket and began to radio back to Konoha, asking for a squad of Anbu to get there as soon as possible, cringing as he mentioned the fact that the Hyuuga heiress was missing. As he and Chouji took off, he tried not to imagine all the ways Kiba and Shino would kill him if he returned without her. 


	4. Shadows

**Chapter 4 : Shadows**

They weren't like Akamaru.  
  
Hinata repeated this mantra as she drew the remaining dogs away from her two colleagues. It wouldn't have bothered her so much if she hadn't overheard the conversation her family was having last night concerning the Hokage's assassination attempt. A hawk that wasn't like other hawks.  
  
And these most certainly not like other dogs, their chakra was wired wrong. Much like the human system, there were weak points but the most central one appeared to be in the eye. By closing that, she knew she could defeat them.  
  
Maybe half a year ago, she wouldn't have bothered. She would have stood behind Shikamaru and Chouji and let them handle it. But she had promised herself at the chuunin exam that she would try to get stronger. So that meant no more running away right?  
  
Hinata aimed right at the tree, shifting the chakra to her feet and climbing straight up. With her Byakugan, she knew they were following, something else a normal dog should not be able to do.  
  
She lined up with one of them and pushed off the tree, flipping backwards and striking out with her palm. The dog yelped, losing its grip and landing on the floor into a heap. Hinata landed next to it, preparing for the second one's attack. It turned off the tree as soon as she had, attempting to strike at her while she was still unbalanced on the ground. But Hinata had been ready for this and struck again quickly, scoring a direct hit.  
  
With the two dogs down at the base of the tree, Hinata let out the breath she had been holding. She walked cautiously over to the two dogs, searching for any signs of life remaining. They were devoid of life, like dry husks that had never been alive at all.  
  
Hinata took a step backwards just as the squad of Anbu arrived. They swarmed the area securing the bodies while checking Hinata for injury. For the most part she was unharmed.  
  
"You've got a nasty cut on your arm," the Anbu with the wolf mask said.  
  
Hinata looked around, surprised at the thin line of blood there. "I don't remember getting that," she said softly.  
  
Shikamaru and Chouji arrived soon after that, glad to see she was intact. Shikamaru muttered something about getting a momentary reprieve from death but he stopped suddenly as his nose picked up a familiar scent.  
  
"Shikamaru?" Chouji asked.  
  
"Do you smell that?" he asked.  
  
The Anbu quickly began searching the area. "What is that?" one of them asked.  
  
Shikamaru closed his eyes and tried to place it. "I know this odor. I've come in contact with it before."  
  
The Anbu captain's attention shifted to him. "Where?" he demanded.  
  
Shikamaru frowned as his mind was assaulted by a cacophony of colors. "In Konoha," he said simply, radioing instructions to their home.

* * *

It was nearly an hour before Sakura moved again. Her legs protested as she straightened them and tried to stand. Her mind hurt just as much as her body but she ignored both. She didn't know the answer to her questions but she doubted she would get them by just sitting here.  
  
"Oi!! Sakura-chan!!"  
  
Sakura blinked and watched as Naruto came running up the hill. She waved to him, letting him know she had heard him. He came to a stop in front of her, taking a moment before catching his breath.  
  
"Ibiki-sensei said you would be here," he smiled. "I guess you didn't get to train today either." Sakura shrugged her shoulders. "Neither did Sasuke-bastard so he's not in a good mood."  
  
Sakura nodded absently and Naruto balked. She hadn't hit him when he called Sasuke a bastard.   
  
"Ne, Sakura-chan? What's the matter?" he asked, a frown dotting his normally cheerful face.  
  
Sakura blinked and looked at him. She bit her lip and paused for a moment, wondering if she should even bother. "Naruto… what do you think of Ibiki-sensei?"  
  
Naruto's nose scrunched up a bit. "He's a bit weird. I guess he can be scary at times. Why?"  
  
Sakura's eyes looked back towards Konoha and Naruto's frown increased. He watched her actions and finally broke into a smile.  
  
"But he's Sakura-chan's teacher so he can't be all bad!"  
  
Sakura blinked. "Why do you say that?"  
  
Naruto laced his hands behind his head. "Because Sakura-chan is nice and smart so if she wants to train with Ibiki-sensei, then he must be okay." He paused and scratched his head. "Besides, no matter what, Sakura-chan is Sakura-chan. When I become Hokage, I'll still be Naruto. So whatever we end up doing, we'll still be friends, ne?"  
  
Sakura smiled a bit. It was times like this she really doubted everyone's belief that Naruto was dimwitted. Sometimes, he was smarter then all of them.  
  
"Thanks, Naruto," Sakura said, a small smile on her face. He smiled in return. "So what do you want to see me about anyway?"  
  
Naruto's smile got bigger. "Wanna go get some ramen with me?"  
  
Sakura sighed and shook her head. Of course, what else would he want if they weren't training? She opened up her mouth to agree when a movement across the field caught her eye. Naruto turned to follow her gaze.  
  
The grass on the hill was moving but there was nothing visible moving it. Naruto's hand instinctively went to his kunai pouch and the movement suddenly altered towards them. They still couldn't see anything but something else filled their senses.  
  
"What the hell is that smell?" he asked.  
  
The wind rushed towards them and knocked them to the ground. Naruto scrambled up and tried to prepare for an attack but the thing was gone.  
  
"It's headed towards Konoha," Sakura said, watching as the grass continued to move. Then at the edge of the field it disappeared. "We need to warn people."  
  
Naruto nodded and quickly took off, Sakura following a few steps behind. They cleared the field in record time but in the streets, there was no way to track it. Naruto cursed and tried to find any trace of it.  
  
"We should go tell the Hokage," Sakura said finally. Naruto didn't seem to like the answer but he eventually acknowledged it was the only one they had.

* * *

Morino Ibiki sat at his desk, hand folded as he examined the material in front of him. The bird feather from the Tengu clan. The list of families that Sakura had provided him. The reports from the villages outside of Konoha. It was worse then he had imagined. He knew it would have to be brought to the Hokage soon, but he couldn't even begin to guess what her reaction would be.  
  
The radio next to him crackled and Ibiki picked up. "Go ahead," he said holding the microphone.  
  
"The Hokage has issued an arrest warrant for a merchant, a matchmaker specifically, in response to the death of some hunters from a neighboring village," the voice responded. "Konoha's police force is already on its way there but the Hokage is asking you oversee the questioning."  
  
Ibiki frowned. What was this about? But then he could hardly argue with the Hokage. So he listened to the details of where he could find the merchant before responding. "I'm on my way."  
  
He left his desk as it was and moved quickly to the door. He pondered bringing a few people to help him but they had said that the police forces were coming. It was already overkill to take down a single woman.  
  
He moved through the market place, ignoring the looks he got and the way the people moved to the side. At least it provided him a clear path to the vibrant tent in front of him. A few police officers were there, waiting for his arrival. He told them to secure the area while he went to get her, taking a few officers with him.  
  
Ibiki opened the tent flap, instantly being assaulted by the smells from inside. He scanned the area, looking for the woman and finally locked onto the small body seated across the table.   
  
"Mabaroshi-san," he said. The woman's head lifted slightly but her face was still hidden.  
  
"Ibiki-san," she replied, her voice even and cold.  
  
Ibiki eyed her. She knew who he was, apparently. "I'm here to ask you to escort you to the police station. We have some questions concerning a group of hunters that was killed outside of this village."  
  
"And you think I'm responsible?"  
  
"It is our belief that you might have information that would help in the investigation."  
  
The woman didn't move. "I do," she replied. "I killed them."  
  
Ibiki's face never showed the shock. The officers behind him shifted and he knew they sensed the danger as well.  
  
"I killed her too," Mabaroshi replied.   
  
"Her who?" Ibiki asked.  
  
Mabaroshi looked up and Ibiki heard one of the officers behind him move outside to get help. The matchmaker's face looked like it had begun to melt, the skin hung loosely around the cheek bones. She laughed but the voice was deeper then a woman's.  
  
"It was convenient," the thing said. "A perfect ruse to obtain information I needed. But it's hard to keep this form." It laughed. "Animals are easier to maintain. Humans are tricky, too much to remember. But I'll change that soon. I've finally found what I needed."  
  
Ibiki didn't bother to ask what that was. The thing was no longer going to talk. The façade of the matchmaker dissolved and the thing reared towards them, a black misshapen mess that still somehow held the qualities a human.  
  
The speed was inhuman as it attacked, impaling one officer on an invisible weapon. The tent tore in half and the people inside scattered. There was screaming, lots of it, Ibiki realized. And he watched in dismay as the people in the market square began to panic.  
  
"Get them out of here!" he screamed at the nearest officer. He turned back to the beast. "I'll take care of it."

* * *

"Shizune!" Sakura cried, getting the woman's attention the moment they cleared the stairs. "We need to talk to the Hokage."  
  
"Hokage is busy," Shizune said. "Tell me… HEY!"  
  
Naruto had bypassed the normal protocol and decided to just barge in. Tsunade looked up suddenly, watching as Naruto stormed in. She didn't appear that surprised at Naruto's actions.   
  
"Old hag," he said. "We need to talk to you now." Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "There was something in the field beside the mountain."  
  
"What?" Tsunade asked.  
  
Naruto looked at her and smiled sheepishly. "We don't know."  
  
Sakura sighed as she took control of the conversation. "It was fast, we didn't see it. But it was moving straight to Konoha."  
  
"It's in the market," Shizune said suddenly, the radio headset still on her ears. "Police force just called it in."  
  
"Get the civilians to safety," Tsunade said, moving past them and grabbing her jacket at the door. "Tell them to contain it. Send Anbu teams there immediately." The last command was issued to a shadow in her office that promptly disappeared to dispatch it.  
  
"Hokage, you should stay here," Shizune said. "You know that there is still a threat out there against you."  
  
"There are also civilians who are in the middle of it."  
  
"And a jounin who can protect them until help arrives," Shizune said.   
  
Tsunade paused for a moment and looked at her. "Who?"

* * *

For an older man, Ibiki moved well. Maybe not as fast as the beast but then his job was not to defeat it, just to contain it until help arrived. Not that he couldn't have handled this by himself, of course.  
  
The pavement next to him exploded, sending shockwaves through the ground and causing him to stumble a bit. Ibiki frowned. Maybe he could use some help after all.  
  
The beast pulled back its arm, blue energy rippling through it. Chakra manipulation, Ibiki realized. It was morphing its physical shell by using chakra. He was so concentrated on that revelation he didn't notice that the beast left a part of it physical body behind.  
  
Ibiki brought up several senbon. The thing was still partly human so if he struck the right pressure points, he could paralyze it momentarily and deliver a full strike. The beast moved again and Ibiki managed to dodge at the last second, his black coat tearing behind him.   
  
He pivoted, hand releasing the needles with perfect aim. They landed in the right spots, the black darkness suddenly very solid as the needles maintained their positions. The beast twitched and howled, unable to move. Ibiki reached in to his pouch and pulled out a kunai, moving quickly towards the immobile enemy.  
  
Behind him, the black pile of organic material the beast had left behind twitched and began to take shape, slowly forming into a dog. Ibiki struck at the monster just as the dog lunged. It bit into his hand, dragging the arm to the ground and disrupting the kunai attack.   
  
Ibiki cursed at it, reaching to get another kunai so he could free himself for the dog's attack. The dog held on, pushing him away the beast. Ibiki plunged the kunai into the dog's back and the animal yelped with pain. It let go and staggered backwards, but there was no blood at the wound. It turned quickly and went to its master grabbing one of the senbon and pulling it free.  
  
Ibiki moved quickly after it, still trying to salvage his attack before the beast was released from its paralysis. He struck, throwing one kunai at it while gripping a second for his main attack. His right thrust forward, the left useless from the dog's attack. The beast's limbs came free just in time and grabbed Ibiki's hand before it land a blow.   
  
"Too slow," it hissed, chakra enveloping his hand. The glove's material crackled and caught fire but Ibiki was not in pain. The beast faltered for a minute and looked down a moment too late.  
  
It was not a hand anymore, merely a mangle of metal, bone and some shreds of skin that were tattooed with kanji. It had no real fingers but it still moved to strike. The beast could only feel cold as Ibiki's bare hand made contact, a jutsu already in effect. Its blackness began to fade, taking on a gray hue as the cells in that part of its body aged rapidly and died.   
  
The beast screamed, the pain of the rapid aging worse then a normal attack. It reacted instinctively, struggling to get free at any cost. The side of the beast tore, the dead part of the body left behind in Ibiki's hand.  
  
The blood on the ground was red, Ibiki noted. It was human at its core and gravely injured by that last attack. But he wasn't doing too well himself. One arm was still bleeding from the dog's attack, the other unable to touch anything without causing it to rot away until the jutsu subsided.  
  
He moved his injured arm, attempting not to grimace as the damaged muscles protested. He stared forward on the monster in front of him, while looking out of the corner of his eyes for its dog. All too late he realized that it could only be one place.   
  
The dog's teeth dug into his left shoulder, paws scratched at his back. It wasn't a fatal blow but he could feel the warm sensation of blood dripping down his shirt. There were yells, coordinated attacks that could only be Anbu. But the wounded beast was too quick for them to corner. Even injured it could move as fast as the wind. And it took only two minutes to lose them after it jumped down into the sewers.  
  
The dog shuddered as the Anbu tried to detach it from him but it wouldn't die. It wasn't until they heard something over the radio that they knew to strike it in the eye. By then, the wound had grown. The lack of blood was making his vision blurry. And despite his best effort, Ibiki passed out half way to the medical center.

* * *

Sakura was beginning to hate hospitals. She could remember as a child entertaining the idea of entering the medical field but the past few years, her experiences with doctors was slowly wearing that childhood dream away. For example, the doctor now was explaining about how they were going to have to put Ibiki in surgery for close to four hours to save his arm. Even as a sannin, the best Tsunade could do with her chakra techniques was stop the bleeding.  
  
"We'll need to augment the metal in there," the doctor was saying before continuing in a language that Sakura had no hope of understanding. She could only translate two facts and that was that Ibiki had been hurt before and it would take work to fix him this time around.  
  
There was a calloused hand on her shoulder suddenly and Sakura jumped a bit with surprise. She looked up and found herself under the gaze of a familiar white haired shinobi.   
  
"Kakashi-sensei?" she asked.  
  
"Naruto came and told me," he said.  
  
"Any news from the Anbu squads?" Tsunade asked, her attention away from the doctor for a moment.  
  
Kakashi shook his head. "The beast is gone. They'll start searching the sewers soon, they have no exit out of Konoha."  
  
"Then we'll lock the gates and make sure nothing leaves this village," Tsunade said firmly. It was extreme, she knew that. A few days and they'd be forced to open the gates again regardless of whether they had captured whatever it was that was running beneath them.  
  
"And the jounin?" the doctor was asking.  
  
Tsunade paused and looked at him. Sakura's brow furrowed at the long pause. "Fix his arm," Sakura said, filling the void.  
  
Tsunade didn't respond to her but instead turned her attention to the doctor. "How long will it take for him to wake up?"  
  
The doctor paused. "After the operation… probably half a day."  
  
Tsunade paused. "And without it?"  
  
"WHAT?" Sakura screeched. "What do you mean without it?" Kakashi's hand tightened on her shoulder.  
  
"Six hours tops," the doctor replied.  
  
"Hokage-sama!" Sakura cried in outrage as the woman appeared to be considering it.  
  
Tsunade looked at the younger girl. "You have to understand... Ibiki is the only one who can tell us what happened."  
  
"There were police officers there," Sakura yelled.  
  
"None of whom actually fought with the beast," Tsunade replied.   
  
"You can't be serious! You can't just let him lose his arm after he got hurt defending the village!"  
  
"I have to take into consideration that there is a monster running around here that none of us know anything about except Ibiki!"  
  
Sakura was about to continue her argument but Kakashi grip increased on her shoulder, making her falter for a moment. Kakashi quickly took that chance to get into the conversation.  
  
"That might not be true," he said. "From the sounds of it, the beast is able to spawn off animals, like dogs and possibly hawks." He paused letting the statement sit with Tsunade for a second. "It means, then, that this event is related to the initial attempt against you Hokage-sama. Ibiki was already investigating this, with Sakura's help." He looked at her. "You've been working with Ibiki the past few days. Maybe you can help shed light on this creature."  
  
Sakura looked up at Kakashi. "I can try."  
  
Kakashi looked at the doctor. "If Hokage-sama stops the bleeding, how long before you won't be able to fix his arm?"  
  
The doctor looked at Tsunade and continued when she nodded. "Four hours. We'll be able to use some jutsu to keep the arm alive but much longer then that and…"  
  
"Four hours, then," Kakashi said. "Team 7 will take this mission," he said to Tsunade.   
  
"I need you to work with the Anbu," she said.  
  
"I understand," he said, small smile under his mask. "But I have confidence in my team's abilities without me. And I think I can get them some help."  
  
Tsunade looked at him for a moment before nodding. "All right then."  
  
Kakashi nodded and quickly steered Sakura out of the waiting room. "You'll have as much time as you need," he said, "but there are only four hours for Ibiki. You go get Sasuke and Naruto and I'll meet you in Ibiki's office."  
  
Sakura nodded. "Kakashi-sensei?" she said softly. He looked at her with a raised eyebrow. Before he could react, she lunged forward and hugged him tightly. "Thank you."  
  
He smiled a bit and ruffled her hair. "Go on, then. You're on a clock." She nodded and quickly disappeared, running through the streets of Konoha to get her teammates. 


	5. Lines

Author's Note : Some of this is pulled from recent manga chapters but there's not too spoilerific. Sorry it took an extra week to get out. Last week was spent recovering from Otakon and the Ota-flu.

**

* * *

**

Chapter 5 : Lines

Four hours.  
  
Sakura ran down the stairs, trying not to let the time limit panic her more then she was. She needed to find Naruto and Sasuke. Then she needed to get to Ibiki's office and read through his notes. But most of all she needed to watch where she was going.  
  
Sakura collided with something solid but soft and tumbled backwards, having no hope of keeping her balance. Whatever she ran into let out a soft cry and all Sakura saw was a mess of purple and gray.  
  
"Watch where you're going there."  
  
Sakura blinked and squeaked out an apology. She stopped the moment she recognized Shikamaru standing in front of her, trying to steady Hinata.  
  
"Ah, Hinata-chan!" Sakura cried. "I'm sorry!! I didn't see you! Are you okay? Why are you guys in the hospital?"  
  
Shikamaru sighed at the barrage of questions. "We heard Hokage-sama was here. What are you doing here?"  
  
"There was an attack in the market, at the matchmaker's hut," Sakura blurted out. "Ibiki-sensei got hurt and… ah! I only have four hours to help him."  
  
"What?" Shikamaru asked, trying to decipher what she had said. "Who attacked him?"  
  
"A monster," Sakura continued. "At least, that what people are saying. No one knows for sure, but they have it trapped in the sewers. Kakashi-sensei thinks that this has something to do with the assassination attempt on Hokage so I'm going to Ibiki-sensei's office and try to figure out what's going on."  
  
Shikamaru frowned as he listened. He hated to admit it but things were slowly coming together in his mind. And that meant he was going to have more work to do then just reporting to the Hokage.  
  
"I think I might have a few ideas," he said, watching as Sakura's face lit up. "But I need to talk to Hokage first. Hinata can tell you about what happened."  
  
"I need to find my teammates," Sakura added.  
  
"I'll pick them up on my way to Ibiki's office," Shikamaru replied. "Naruto was the one who told us that Hokage was here, he should still be at the tower."  
  
Sakura nodded and took Hinata's hand, ignoring the other girl's protests as she dragged her away. Shikamaru merely sighed and shuffled up the stairs to find the Hokage.

* * *

"It was wired wrong?" Sakura asked as she and Hinata entered the office.  
  
Hinata nodded dumbly. "I don't know how else to explain it," she said softly. "It had the right shape but… the chakra was all wrong."  
  
Sakura frowned as she took in what Hinata said. "I just don't understand," Sakura sighed. Her eyes began to mist a bit as she started to realize she had little hope of putting things together in the little time she had.  
  
Hinata saw the change in expression and took a tentative step forward. She reached out a hand and put it on Sakura's shoulder. "Maybe… maybe your sensei wrote something down."  
  
Sakura blinked and looked at Hinata. She nodded firmly and walked over to the desk, slowly moving through the piles of paperwork. Hinata worked silently next to her, trying to find anything of interest.  
  
They were so caught up in their work that the girls missed Shikamaru's call for attention. "Che," he finally settled on. "Just keep on ignoring us then."  
  
Sakura blinked back to reality just in time to see Naruto bound over to her. "What did you find?"  
  
"Huh?" she asked, still a bit dazed from all the reading.  
  
"Shikamaru explained on the way," Sasuke interjected, taking a seat on the side.  
  
"So did you find anything new?" Naruto asked again.  
  
Sakura shook her head and turned to Hinata, hoping the other girl had better luck. Hinata had turned several shades of red and was twitching her hands nervously. She still managed to shake her head.  
  
Naruto reached forward and took the sheet out of Sakura's hand. "What's this?" he asked, looking it over.  
  
"It just a list of families that the Tengu clan married into," Sakura said, trying to snatch it back.  
  
"It's like all of Konoha is on this list," Naruto yelled. "Well, except Sasuke's…" he trailed off a bit. "Hey Hinata, your family isn't on the list either!"  
  
Sakura watched as Hinata's emotions went quickly from nervous to uncomfortable. She heard Sasuke shift slightly and looked over at him. His eyes had darkened, probably at the mention of his family.  
  
"My family…" Hinata started silently. "We couldn't marry a Tengu member."  
  
"Why not?" Naruto ventured.  
  
Hinata fell silent and Sasuke let out a sigh. "You can't cross the Bloodlines," he stated simply.  
  
"Huh? How come?"  
  
"You just don't," Sasuke replied.  
  
"But why?"  
  
Sasuke blinked when he realized the question had come from Sakura. He frowned deeper, knowing he didn't have the answer to that, and looked over at Hinata.  
  
"I don't…" Hinata started. "It's just a rule."  
  
"It makes sense," Shikamaru stated. "Bloodlines are mostly dominant genes and having a child with two dominant techniques could cause a conflict."  
  
"Or it could produce a child that expressed both traits," Sakura retorted.  
  
"If that was true," Shikamaru replied, "then why don't we have super strong Tengu clan members with Sharigan?"  
  
"Gah," Naruto said, putting his hands in his head. "I don't get it."  
  
"Neither do I," Sakura agreed. "Why would it be a rule?"  
  
"I could…" Hinata began, quickly trailing off when everyone's attention was on her. "I mean… I c…could look at… ummm…" Hinata took in a deep breath and tried to find the right words. "We have family records. I could look to see… maybe it was tried before."  
  
"So you think this thing is somehow related?" Sakura asked Shikamaru, taking attention away from the blushing girl.  
  
He frowned. "I don't know but we have a monster running around that can morph its physical essences into imperfect animals."  
  
"So?" Sakura prodded.  
  
Shikamaru paused. "That day… when the woman came out of the window, you didn't see it?" Sakura shook her head. "She had wings but not real wings. It was like they were made of chakra but solid."  
  
There was silence before Sakura quickly started shuffling through the pile. She pulled out the file she needed. "The Tengu clan has a connection with the hawks of Konoha but it's secondary to their main Bloodline technique."  
  
"Which is?" Sasuke prompted.  
  
Sakura read down the sheet. "They can manipulate their bodies to take on the characteristics of birds," she said softly.  
  
"But only birds," Shikamaru said. "Not dogs like we saw."  
  
"The dogs were wrong," Hinata ventured. "The physical form may have been right but inside was wrong."  
  
"But the birds were real enough to fool even Hokage-sama," Shikamaru said. "Just not Hane-san who would know all the birds in the village."  
  
"Nama," Sakura whispered. "When Hane saw the bird in Hokage's office, that's what she called it. And Ibiki asked me to get a feather from it."  
  
Hinata suddenly moved, shuffling through the scrolls before handing Sakura one. "Ibiki-sensei wrote something about the bird."  
  
Sakura read the report over, moving through Shizune's testimony about the hawk followed by her own. Ibiki had noted all the similarities and noted at the end the fact that Nama was attacked only a few days before the attempt on Hokage.  
  
"Ibiki-sensei thought," Hinata began, trying to ignore the attention on her, "that something had attacked Nama and tried to kill it to be able to replace it in the Tengu aviary."  
  
"Wait... was it after the Hokage or the Tengu clan?" Naruto asked.  
  
The room fell into silence after Naruto's simple question. "Hane was in the same room with Hokage-sama when the thing exploded," Shikamaru pondered.  
  
"And if she was the target," Sasuke added, "then the bird bomb accomplished its mission. This would explain why there was no second attempt on the Hokage."  
  
"But that doesn't make sense," Sakura frowned. "Why would it target the Tengu clan?"  
  
"Stop for a moment," Shikamaru said, grabbing an empty scroll and shoving it at Sakura. "There are too many ideas at once. Start writing things down."  
  
Sakura glared at him and was about to hurl insults but logic struck first and she realized he was right.  
  
"First, we have the fact that the Tengu clan has married with every prominent family except those with Bloodline capabilities," Shikamaru started, "based on a rule that none of us really understands."  
  
The room was silent after he finished until Naruto pointed at him. "That's the most you've ever said!" Shikamaru sighed and sat down. Sakura frowned at Naruto trying to ignore Inner Sakura's giggles at Naruto's comment.  
  
"Naruto! Be serious," Sakura chided.  
  
"Next," Shikamaru said, interrupting the teammates, "there's the creature that can morph into imperfect animals. We've had one hawk in the Hokage's tower. Four dogs in the forest. And the creature in the marketplace that Ibiki fought." He paused. "I wish we knew more about that last one."  
  
"The Konoha police force was there," Sakura said. "One of the officers was hurt by it."  
  
"Well that would work," Shikamaru drawled. "But it's not like we can just walk in there and look at their notes." Sakura frowned as she thought of how to get around that fact.  
  
"I can ask," Sasuke said suddenly. Sakura looked at him, waiting for further explanation but got none.  
  
Shikamaru interrupted, knowing part of the story and not wanting to waste time having to explain. "There's one part left, the matchmaker. I'll take that one."  
  
"What about me?" Naruto asked.  
  
"Take this radio and go to the Tengu Aviary," Sakura replied. "I'm not allowed there any more, but if they are involved someone needs to watch them. I'll stay here and try to work more on Ibiki's notes. Let's meet back here in an hour."  
  
The assembled group nodded and quickly dispersed, leaving Sakura alone in Ibiki's cold office. She looked up at the wall, watching the seconds tick away, leaving them with just over three hours.

* * *

Shikamaru found her at home, pouting on the steps of her house. He walked up, sat down next to her and ignored the way she flipped her blonde hair at him signifying she was still mad about being left behind.  
  
"You know I was right to go on the mission without you," he stated simply.  
  
Ino's brow furrowed and let out a silent sigh. "I know," she whispered.  
  
He was surprised by her lack of fight. "Got your voice back?"  
  
Ino nodded. "Went to the doctor," she said, keeping her words short and simple.  
  
"What did he say?"  
  
"I spoke too much," she frowned. "But… I don't know why last night was different."  
  
Shikamaru sighed and put a hand behind his head. "Ino… last night, you didn't just lose your voice. There are several hours that…"  
  
Ino shook her head fervently. "Nothing bad happened," she interrupted.  
  
"Nothing bad, right," he stated. "But did you…"  
  
"No!" she cried. "Nothing happened."  
  
"Ino?"  
  
She paused. "They already came to talk to me."  
  
"Who?"  
  
"The Konoha police," she whispered. "They said that… thing knew Ibiki-sensei's name."  
  
It knew mine too, he said silently.  
  
Her hands tightened on her dress. "They said a few of the shopkeepers saw me go inside the tent." Shikamaru frowned. He had been right. "I don't know… what did I say?"  
  
Shikamaru breath caught in his throat as he saw her eyes. They were brimming over with tears.  
  
"I could have told her anything," Ino sobbed slightly. "They think it was just names, maybe special jutsus but… what if it was more? What if I gave it addresses or weakness or something that would hurt someone?"  
  
"It couldn't be that bad," Shikamaru stated. "It's not like you knew anything important or…"  
  
"And that matters?" Ino cried, standing up. "You don't get it! How could I… I just let that woman trick me! I'm supposed to be a ninja!"  
  
"Ino, wait," Shikamaru said, realizing his mistake.  
  
"Just forget it," she screamed, opening the door. "Just leave me alone!"  
  
Shikamaru cowered as the door slammed behind him. At least now he knew what he needed. He thought of going in and trying to apologize but he knew time was short. It was just something that Ino would have to figure out on her own.

* * *

Sasuke frowned as he examined the Police Department. It was woefully understaffed and the building was falling apart. It was almost an insult to have the Konoha police force still wear the Uchiha fan on their shoulders. His father would never have let it get this bad.  
  
The desk sergeant approached to ask who he was but jumped at the familiar face. "Uchiha-sama…"  
  
Sasuke looked at him without emotion. He hated this place. He had avoided it since… that night. But here he was in a place where most of the Uchiha clan had once worked. Now it was devoid of their presence and barely being kept up by the officers who remained.  
  
The desk sergeant had left, presumably to find the chief who was in charge. Sasuke didn't move. He had no intention of going inside. He just wanted to get the information and leave. But every moment here was slowly eroding his resolve. Every smell, every noise was familiar and reminded him of the loss.  
  
"Uchiha-sama, it is good to see you," the police chief said with a deep bow, two deputies at his side.  
  
"Aa."  
  
"I am surprised that you have finally returned here," the chief started. "After what happened we had hoped…"  
  
"I need information," Sasuke interrupted, cutting off the deluge of sympathy.  
  
"Oh… about what?"  
  
"The attack in the market," Sasuke stated firmly. "I would like to see the report on it."  
  
The chief fell silent, staring down at the child. He nodded suddenly, much to the surprise of his subordinates. He pulled a scroll from the deputy's hand and gave it to Sasuke, who quickly began to read it over. The frown on his face increased as he did.  
  
"It is good to have an Uchiha inside our walls again," the chief smiled slightly, watching Sasuke flinch a bit.  
  
Sasuke rolled up the scroll and handed back to the chief. With a curt nod and thank you, he turned on his heel and left. As soon as he was gone the deputies took the chance to question their chief's action.  
  
The police chief looked past the desk sergeant to the back wall where the portrait of his predecessor hung. "You didn't see the look in his eyes," the chief replied. "I thought, for a moment, that I was receiving an order from my chief."  
  
Someday, the chief thought as he looked at his mentor's image, someday there will be an Uchiha in this position again.

* * *

Hinata moved quickly through her house, trying to avoid everyone there. Her heart beat quickly as she shuffled towards the back part of the complex. All she needed to do was make it past the kitchens and she would be in the clear.  
  
"What are you doing?"  
  
Hinata squeaked at the person in front of her. "Neji-niisan!"  
  
He eyed her cautiously. "What are you doing here?" he amended.  
  
Hinata's feet shuffled on the ground. This back area of the Hyuuga compound was not some place she would usually be but she still had a right to be here. In fact, she had business here. She should just tell Neji to leave her alone.  
  
But instead, she reverted to her normal mode and bowed apologetically. "Gomen," Hinata cried.  
  
And then much to their surprise, she pushed past him and quickly ran to the records room, sliding the door shut. She paused for a moment, trying to catch her breath and at the same time preparing for Neji to storm in and yell at her.  
  
But it never came. So instead, she hurriedly made her way towards the pile of scrolls that were used to document the family tree. She scrolled it down, noting all the names that were there and the lack of Bloodline families.  
  
She frowned slightly. Maybe they wouldn't have written it down if it was tried. But then, that answer didn't help Sakura-san at all.  
  
"Hinata."  
  
Hinata's face paled more then she thought possible. She turned slowly and saw the tall form of her father standing in the doorway, Neji standing behind him a few paces.  
  
"Oto-san," Hinata whispered.  
  
He looked around the room and then settled his gaze on her. "Is there a reason why you are in the family records room?"  
  
Hinata's hand automatically went to wringing her coat. "Yes, sir."  
  
He paused, waiting for her to continue but she didn't. "Why?" he demanded.  
  
Hinata looked at him and at Neji and then back at the floor. "Because…" she started, stopping the moment her voice cracked. "Because…"  
  
She could almost hear Neji's smirk. She didn't need to look up to see it or the disapproving look on her father's face. Maybe even disappointment in her inability to express anything without fear. But then, she was so used to either of those looks on her father's face, she didn't think she would recognize them without her.  
  
"Hinata, if you have no business here…"  
  
"Why can't we marry a Bloodline member?"  
  
For the first time, Hinata saw something else on her father's face. Surprise. Even Neji looked like he hadn't expected that.  
  
"Because you can't," Hiashi stated.  
  
"But… why?" Hinata pushed.  
  
Hiashi frowned. "Why do you want to know?"  
  
"I… I…" Hinata faltered. She paused. "I need to know."  
  
Hiashi eyed her warily before turning to Neji and dismissing him with a flick of his hand. Neji started a bit and then disappeared just as Hiashi closed the door.  
  
"I can tell you," Hiashi said, "as you are the heir to this family. But it must never leave this room."  
  
Hinata frowned. It would not help Sakura-san but the fact that her father was acknowledging her position was enough. So she nodded slowly.  
  
"It was tried," Hiashi started, "once before. The result was… disastrous. Two dominant genes fought for control and the body of the offspring was mutated beyond recognition. It was an abomination and the decision was made to destroy it and forbid the procreation of a dual Bloodline child from that point on."  
  
Hinata gasped. "We were part of that?"  
  
Hiashi shook his head. "No, only of the judgement."  
  
"Then who?"

* * *

Sasuke pulled the tatami mat away and slowly descended down the stairs. Twice today he had been forced to reencounter places he wished he could forget. The reason for this self torture was a mystery to him. He supposed it had something to do with helping a teammate but it didn't seem to be reason enough.  
  
Rather then ponder on the reasons any more, he lit the torch and swept the light across the room. The seats were covered in dust and a stink of mildew filled the air. If he looked closely, he could see the impression on the mats of Uchiha members that were long gone.  
  
He moved slowly, eyeing a pile of scrolls that contained the secrets of the Uchiha. He slowly picked up one, bringing it back upstairs with him. After replacing the tatami mat, he went outside and sat on the seats of the shrine.  
  
Reading the report of the police officer had bothered him. The way they described the way the beast attacked, the way that it moved, there was something familiar in that secondhand account. That and the description of how the beast interacted with its environment. It could obviously copy the physical forms of things, at least on the outside.  
  
As he read the scroll, his hypothesis was proven. Early in the days of the third Hokage, they had attempted exactly what Shikamaru had said. A Tengu member with Sharigan. 


	6. Screams

**Chapter 6 : Screams**

Naruto tossed the radio in the air as he lay on the ground next to the Tengu Aviary. An hour after leaving everyone else behind, the setting sun had been the only exciting thing to watch. He eyed the Tengu Aviary warily before finally pressing the button on the side of the radio.  
  
"Sakura-chan?" he whined. "Can I come back yet?"  
  
There was a long pause before Sakura answered. "Not yet," came the crackling voice.  
  
"Did everyone come back yet?"  
  
"Yeah… we're trying to sort things out. I'll call back in a bit."  
  
Naruto sighed and lay back on the ground, staring up at the sky. Five seconds of watching the golden clouds and Naruto decided that Shikamaru must have serious mental problems to enjoy doing this all the time.  
  
Without warning, the sky suddenly became dark and it took Naruto a moment to realize that it wasn't natural. He stood up quickly and looked back towards the Tengu Aviary. It appeared the entire population of Konoha's birds was pouring out of the metal cage and into the sky.  
  
Naruto jumped up, quickly scrambling for the radio. "Sakura-chan!"  
  
There was a pause before Sakura's bored voice came through. "What is it? I told you to give me a few minutes."  
  
"All the birds in the Tengu Aviary are going wild!" he yelled.  
  
"What?"  
  
Naruto attempted to answer but the entire caged area of the Aviary pitched over and came crashing to the ground. There was an unearthly scream and Naruto was sure they would have heard it back in Ibiki's office even without the radio on.  
  
The ground under Naruto's feet seemed to lurch upward as the building collapsed. He jumped backwards as he started to fall, determined not to lose his footing. As soon as he landed his eyes caught the movement out of the rubble.  
  
"NARUTO!" Sakura's voice screamed through the radio.  
  
Naruto quickly stuffed it under his shirt and hit the ground. The tall grass covered him for the most part but he could still see what was going on.  
  
The shadow grew out of the rubble and Naruto realized what it was. The radio buzzed against his stomach and he knew Sakura was yelling through it. He reached for the radio and pressed the talk button, silencing the other end. He brought it up to his mouth as his eyes locked with the creature.  
  
"It's here," he said.

* * *

Sakura was knee deep in scrolls by the time Shikamaru wandered in. He eyed her for a few minutes before wandering over to help get her out of the mess she had made.  
  
"I don't think your sensei will be pleased with the state of his office," he said, reaching out a hand to help her out of the pile.  
  
"It's actually better off then before," Sakura replied, letting him pull her out. She tottered, tripping over a few scrolls and ended up dancing a bit to maintain her balance.  
  
"Having fun there?" Sasuke asked, as he entered the room.  
  
Shikamaru sighed as Sakura snatched her hand back. "Just waiting for the rest of you to decide to come back. Anything useful?" Sasuke nodded curtly just as Hinata walked in behind him.  
  
"That's everyone," Sakura said. "Did you find anything out, Hinata?"  
  
Everyone turned to her and Hinata's thumbs instinctively began to twiddle. Slowly she shook her head, feeling the her conscience weigh down on her. "We had no records of anything like that," she said softly, knowing it was a lie but that she couldn't betray her family.  
  
"It's no surprise," Sasuke stated.  
  
"Why not?" Sakura asked.  
  
He frowned. "I went to the police station and read the report. There was something too familiar about the beast. So I looked in… our family records." He trailed off.  
  
"Its part of the Uchiha isn't it?" Shikamaru said, filling in the silence. Sasuke nodded slightly. "Makes sense, the thing is perfect at copying the physical."  
  
Sakura looked at Sasuke but if he was feeling anything, he wasn't showing it. "So what happened?"  
  
"The cross went bad," Sasuke shrugged. "There were some notes but nothing much."  
  
"Did it survive?" Shikamaru asked.  
  
"Yeah. But it didn't say anything about what happened afterwards."  
  
"It was destroyed," Hinata said. They all looked at her and she paled at her words. "I mean… it… it's not here. We never knew about it. So…"  
  
"Unless they hid it," Shikamaru added.  
  
"They being who?" Sakura asked.  
  
"I'd say either family but with the Uchiha gone it seems more likely to be the Tengu."  
  
"If it was the Tengu," Sakura said, pulling out the scroll of notes from earlier, "then why would it attack them?"  
  
"To get free," Shikamaru shrugged. "To get power. Maybe it was aiming for both Hane and the Hokage, two birds with one stone and all."  
  
The bad pun wasn't the only reason for silence in the room. Sakura frowned deeply at the words. Why would anyone want to keep a monster alive?  
  
The radio on the desk crackled to life suddenly and Naruto's voice boomed into the room.  
  
"Sakura-chan? Can I come back yet?"  
  
Sakura maneuvered through the mess and picked up the radio. "Not yet," she replied.  
  
"Did everyone come back yet?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah… we're trying to sort things out. I'll call back in a bit."  
  
She kept the radio in her hand as she looked at the group in front of her. It seemed that they had almost all the pieces to put something together. But they were still missing the answer to the simplest question. Why? Why did the beast return? Why was it attacking people?  
  
"I have to go," Hinata said suddenly. "I promised my father I would go home before dark. I'm sorry that… that I couldn't help."  
  
Sakura shook her head. "You've been a real help, Hinata-chan, thanks again." The other girl blushed and bowed, quickly scurrying out of the door.  
  
Shikamaru let out a deep sigh and glanced at the clock. They had a little under two hours to come up with an answer. He hated working under pressure.  
  
"Ne, Shikamaru," Sakura started, catching his attention. "What did you find out about the matchmaker?"  
  
Shikamaru frowned. He didn't want to bring Ino's name into this so he just skirted around the source of the information. "The creature probably posed as the old woman to get information. Think about it, who would think it's strange for a matchmaker to ask about all the people in your life."  
  
Shikamaru paused as he pulled everything together. "It's looking for something," he said. "Or more accurately, someone."  
  
Sasuke looked up. "The police report… one of the officers heard it say it had found what it needed."  
  
Sakura looked at them both. "What did it find?" she asked, knowing no one had the answer.  
  
The radio suddenly screamed at them. "Sakura-chan!"  
  
Sakura let out a sigh and picked up the radio, annoyed that Naruto had interrupted their discussion again. "What is it? I told you to give me a few minutes."  
  
"All the birds in the Tengu Aviary are going wild!" he yelled.  
  
"What?" she screamed, noting that both Shikamaru and Sasuke had come alert.  
  
There was noise on the other end, like it was the end of the world. Sakura was screaming Naruto's name into the radio but he wasn't responding. Shikamaru snatched it out of her hands and quickly turned the channel, calling into the Hokage's tower to inform them. Sasuke simply grabbed Sakura and dragged her out as a scream echoed in the air, inhumane and full of rage.  
  
"The idiot's going to get hurt if we don't help," he said simply as Sakura tripped next to him.  
  
"Keep trying him," Shikamaru said, catching up with them and handing the radio back to her.  
  
They cleared the exit of the building in record time and started running towards the Tengu Aviary. There was a plume of dust and debris in the air as they approached, followed swiftly by a wave of black and white that could only signify that the Anbu had been mobilized.  
  
"NARUTO!" Sakura tried once more into the radio.  
  
"It's here," came the reply.  
  
Sakura's eyes opened wide. "Just stay quiet," she whispered into radio. "Don't do anything…"  
  
"HEY! YOU STUPID MONSTER!"  
  
Sasuke cursed as Naruto's voice came through the radio. Leave it to the idiot to make things worse. He jumped up on the roof, noting that Sakura and Shikamaru followed a few steps behind.  
  
The field leading to the Aviary was coming up fast and Sasuke could make out the gray-black form of the beast. Nearby was ball of orange and yellow that could only be Naruto. Sasuke was about to continue but a hand on his shoulder pulled him to a stop.  
  
His head whipped around, coming face to face with Shikamaru. "Let go," Sasuke growled.  
  
"Let the Anbu handle this," Shikamaru said. "You wouldn't make it five seconds with something like that."  
  
Sasuke was about to argue but Sakura's voice broke the fight. "Look," she whispered.  
  
They turned and followed her gaze. The beast was shrinking, suddenly turning human sized. It started to limp towards Naruto who seemed completely transfixed by its gaze. Sasuke started again, but Shikamaru held him back, pointing to the Anbu on the next roof. It was obvious they were about to attack.

* * *

Naruto yelled and got the monster's attention. It turned to him and Naruto brought his hands up to start performing seals. He could summon the frog boss and eliminate this thing in no time.  
  
But something filtered in the air. A sweet, sickly smell and suddenly Naruto found he couldn't move. The monster began to shrink until suddenly it was the outline of an older man. It limped towards him and despite his attempts, his legs would not move.  
  
It brought a hand up and slowly grazed a nail against his cheek, drawing a thin line of blood. It paused and looked at its nail.  
  
"You're not like her," it said, a ghost of a smile on its shadow like face.  
  
Then suddenly it was gone and in its place were a pile of Kunai. Two Anbu arrived next to him but one quickly disappeared. The other kept asking him if he was okay, but Naruto couldn't answer.  
  
The trio of genin watching from the distance finally arrived. Naruto could hear Sakura's frantic question about his state of being but he couldn't answer. He really wanted to though, because she was obviously very upset. He wanted to tell her that he was okay. So he started to muster all the strength to say something.  
  
But at the last second, he knew there was something more important he had to say. The way the beast had spoken to him made it clear that it was looking for someone. A girl to be specific. And he knew that Sakura would be able to make better sense of it then he could.  
  
"Not… like… her…" he said through gritted teeth, using ever ounce of willpower he had. The effort cost him. The beast's spell dragged him down into the blackness of unconsciousness.  
  
"Not like who?" Sakura cried. But Naruto was falling and all she could do was catch him and lay him on the ground. "Is that what it said to you? Naruto! Please wake up!!"  
  
Behind her, Shikamaru's brows had begun to furrow as he thought about what Naruto said. The thin line of blood on his face drew his attention and suddenly he had an image of Hinata, grabbing her arm during their fight in the forest.  
  
It's after her.  
  
"Hinata!" he said suddenly. "It's after Hinata."  
  
"What?" Sakura cried, turning her attention from her fallen teammate.  
  
"Damn it!" Shikamaru cursed. "Why didn't I see it before? When we were fighting in the village, the thing got a hit on Hinata. It drew her blood. That's why afterwards, with Ibiki it said it had found what it needed."  
  
"What did it need?" Sakura asked.  
  
"A Hyuuga," Sasuke said, understanding where this was going. "Sharigan wasn't enough to let it make perfect copies of things."  
  
"But Byakugan would do that, chakra system and all," Shikamaru finished. "You have to find Hinata," he said at to the Anbu. "Wherever she is, the beast will be there."

* * *

Hinata left the Interrogation building and quickly made her way home. The sun had already set and she knew her father was going to be displeased with her. She had barely made it ten steps outside when a familiar form appeared in front of her.  
  
"Neji-niisan."  
  
"Your father wanted me to escort you home as you failed to return before he asked," he stated.  
  
Hinata bowed and tried to push the grim thoughts of punishment from her mind. She followed behind him, her fingers nervously playing the edge of her jacket. She knew he was upset with her about the incident earlier but she should have been just as upset. Why did he always have to run and tell her father when she did something? She knew that he was supposed to protect her as a Branch Member but it seemed that it was more like tattling on her.  
  
She knew she should say something but she didn't want to risk disrupting things further. After the Chuunin exam, Neji had been somewhat more civil to her. He never apologized for the fight but she hadn't expected that much. She just wanted him to smile at her like he did when they first met.  
  
Her gaze turned to the Tengu Aviary and she blushed a bit at the thought of Naruto up there. If she was more like that, she could tell Neji how she felt. Though she might use less colorful language then he would.  
  
Hinata's feet came to a stop. Neji turned around and was about to ask her what the hold up was when he felt saw the wave of bird that filled the sky. Simultaneously, they activated Byakugan, concentrating on Tengu Aviary as it slowly came apart.  
  
"The beast," Hinata whispered as it came to shape.  
  
"We need to go now," Neji said grabbing her arm.  
  
"No!" Hinata cried. "Naruto-kun is up there."  
  
"He can take care of himself."  
  
"Not against that!" Hinata cried.  
  
"I fought him," Neji said, looking at her. "I know his abilities. I know he will be fine. Besides, look, the Anbu are already going."  
  
Hinata wanted to argue further, but she knew he was right. She could see the waves of Anbu heading to the Aviary. And looking back, it appeared that the beast had shrunk down. So she let Neji drag her through the streets without any more protests. She still couldn't help but worry about Naruto.  
  
Neji suddenly stopped, causing her to run into his back. She was about to question why when she saw it.  
  
"Hello, Hinata-chan, Neji-kun," came a deep voice from the black humanoid mass in front of them. "Hinata-chan, I've been looking for you, for a very long time."  
  
Neji's muscles tightened as the smell pervaded his senses. His legs suddenly seized up and refused to move.  
  
"Neji-niisan?" Hinata asked, feeling the way he had tensed.  
  
"Sorry," the beast said. "But your guard will have to stay behind."  
  
"What did you do to him?"  
  
The beast produced a small container, with smoke billowing out of it. "It's an old trick, a little bit of sweet smoke and they never see it coming. This particular incense paralyzes the nerves of males." It quickly put the container away. "You, however, I need awake."  
  
"Me? What do you want with me?" Hinata asked, tightening her grip on the back of Neji's coat. She could feel his heart beating in his chest rapidly as he struggled.  
  
"I need you to finish what was started," it said. "I was not perfect, but our child will be."  
  
Hinata's eyes opened wide and she stepped backwards. She looked around the area, searching for a way to get away but the beast was watching her.  
  
"Go ahead and run if you want," it said. "But I'll still catch up to you. After I kill your cousin, of course. I was told there is bad blood between you but can you really let a family member die, Hinata-chan?"  
  
Hinata's hands were shaking. Neji concentrated, trying to draw as much energy as he could. She could see the strain he was putting on himself to move. "R…run," came the soft voice. "G…go…"  
  
She looked at him, knowing what he was asking her to do. It made sense. The Anbu couldn't be that far behind. Running would buy her the time she needed. His knees shook and he fell to the ground, obviously weakened by the strain against the nerve toxin. She looked at him on the ground, eyes still open but helpless before the creature in front of her.  
  
Her hands suddenly clenched tightly. She looked up at the beast, the veins in her eyes straining as she took a step forward.  
  
"No," she said suddenly, standing in front of Neji. "I won't run." She slowly shifted her feet into the opening position of Jyuuken. "But… I won't come easily either."  
  
She didn't dare look down at Neji, knowing the look that must be in his eyes. The same one her father gave her each time she fought Hanabi. You're not good enough to do this. You're not strong enough. You're weak.  
  
The beast snarled and eyed her cautiously. She needed to buy a bit of time so that the Anbu would find them. She concentrated on the monster in front of her and saw that one of its sides was badly damaged. That must have been where Ibiki hit him.  
  
The beast lunged and Hinata jumped backwards, avoiding the extended flesh that reached for her. It moved quickly again, but this time towards Neji whom she had left behind.  
  
Hinata realized her dilemma as she quickly jumped forward, delivering a solid kick to the thing and pushing it away. By fighting the beast and attempting to prevent it from getting Neji, she'd have to stay in only one place. She was greatly reducing her already weak skills.  
  
The beast sneered, coughing slightly as it put a hand to its side. Hinata lowered her stance. There was no other way to fight. She would have to bring the fight to the beast and hope that a hit to its side would immobilize it.  
  
It was surprised when she suddenly appeared before him. What she lacked in strength, Hinata made up for in speed. Her palm struck forward, landing a blow on its shoulder and sending it stumbling back. Its body was mostly solid, Hinata realized, though its chakra coils were aligned differently and appeared to be constantly shifting.  
  
From the shoulder strike, the beast had turned slightly backwards, allowing Hinata to breech his defense and push her other palm deep into the wound on its side. The beast screamed in agony, a noise that Hinata could only hope would bring the Anbu quickly.  
  
Not wanting to lose the advantage, she struck again, aiming for where the eyes should have been with a nippon nukite. She didn't make contact with the eyes and instead her two fingers slowly slid into the darkness.  
  
Two hands on the beast and Hinata knew this was her only chance. Concentrating, she brought the chakra inside her to a peak. If she couldn't target the tenketsu because they weren't in one place, she would just push as much chakra as she could into its insides.  
  
The air around the two crackled with energy, the beast's opaque skin took on a slightly blue hue. It realized the danger and shifted in her hands, trying to get away. One hand came loose but the other one was still tight inside its wound.  
  
There was a moment of stillness before Hinata let her attack go. For a moment, the beast was almost white as chakra spilled into its body. Most of it was leaking out but some of it made it through the wound and burned its insides.  
  
It reared backward, pushing Hinata away and quickly scampered to the nearest sewer entrance. Hinata had her hands on her knees, attempting to recover from the abrupt drop in her chakra level. After several seconds, she finally started to wobble over to Neji to check on him.  
  
She expected the surprised look on his face. After all, she hadn't been the most aggressive person in Konoha. But he wasn't looking at her. He was staring in surprise at something behind her.  
  
She barely had a chance to react as she felt it wrap around her ankle. Looking backwards, she saw the long arm of the beast stretching out of the sewer hole. It pulled back into the darkness, snapping like an elastic band. Hinata fell forward, smashing her head on the ground and losing consciousness.  
  
A second later, they were both gone. All the remained was an immobilized Neji and a long red line that from where Hinata had fallen towards the darkness of the sewers. 


	7. Life

**Chapter 7 - Life**

Kakashi landed on the ground, eyeing the inert form of Naruto with a frown. Sakura was kneeling next to him, trying to push him awake. Shikamaru was telling something to one of the other Anbu, who disappeared a second later.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura cried, the moment she saw him. He came next to her and gave her a reassuring pat on the head as he glanced at Naruto. There didn't appear to be any physical damage but there was a lingering scent in the air that he recognized.

He reached into one of his pockets and produced a tiny vial. He shook it a few times and unscrewed the top, waving it under Naruto's nose. A second later, Naruto jumped up, staring wildly around.

"Where did it go?" he demanded.

"Naruto!" Sakura said, trying to get his attention.

The blond looked around and suddenly remembered where he was. He looked over at Sakura sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. "Sorry," he said.

"You IDIOT!" she screamed, hitting him over the head. "What part of 'just stay quiet' didn't you understand?"

Sasuke smirked, knowing that he wouldn't have to add his own comment to the argument. Sakura would do just fine with the yelling portion of the discussion. He eyed Kakashi as he spoke into his radio, trying to pick up what was being said.

Kakashi's eye fixed on him just as the conversation ended. "They found Neji."

Sakura fell silent as she looked at Kakashi. "Neji? Why... wait... where's Hinata?"

Kakashi took in a deep breath and tried to think of how best to break the news. "Neji was escorting Hinata home when they were cornered by the beast. It immobilized him the same way it did Naruto. And then it took Hinata with it as it escaped..."

"What?" Sakura cried. "What do you mean?"

"What happened to her?" Naruto added. "Where is she?"

Kakashi frowned, his mask crinkling as he did. "We don't know."

* * *

Tsunade grabbed her hair in frustration at the nightmare this day had become. Chasing a phantom through the sewers had been bad enough. But now the Tengu Aviary was in ruins and the Hyuuga heir was missing.

The clan heads were already assembling, discussing what the next move should be. The conversation came to stop as the Hyuuga elder entered the room. Tsunade appeared surprised by his appearance.

"Where is Hiashi?" she asked.

"In the sewers," the elder answered, "with most of the rest of our clan."

"He was told to wait until we could decide on a plan."

"He disagreed," the elder stated. "It was important to track this creature before it got too deep into the system."

Tsunade gripped the table with a strength that threatened to shatter it. "And exactly how are we supposed to communicate with them? Radio won't work in the tunnels."

"I know something that will."

The group turned as the head of the Tengu family limped in, propped up by a younger member. Both were covered in dirt and assorted bandages had been hastily wrapped around their injuries.

"Give us one reason to trust you," came the gruff retort of the Inuzuka clan head. "This thing is yours."

Tengu closed his eyes and nodded. "This is true, we will not deny it."

"The child was to be destroyed," Hyuuga stated. "That was the decision of the bloodline families."

"We thought it had," Tengu replied. "But in the interest of being... humane about it, the mother demanded she be the one to do it."

"And you failed to check to make sure it had been done?" Hyuuga snapped.

"We checked," Tengu said through gritted teeth. "It is obvious now but not then that the child could spawn off physical parts."

"Who was the mother?" Tsunade demanded. "If she is alive, then maybe..."

"The mother has perished," Tengu stated. "Ironically, at the hands of her son."

Tsunade eyed Tengu for a moment and then realized what he meant. "The mother was Hane?"

Tengu nodded slowly. "Though why she kept the child alive is a mystery. She knew it was dangerous. She knew what the council wanted."

"But she was still its mother," Tsunade frowned. "She cared for everyone and everything in that aviary."

Tengu bowed deeply. "I don't know how to begin to apologize for the trouble that we have caused."

"We will leave that for later," Tsunade said. "For now, we have to find it and Hinata. Do you have any idea what its purpose is?"

Tengu shook his head. "Nothing that would help in this."

"The attacks in the towns of Konoha," Inuzuka said. "They began around the same time that this beast appeared, correct?" Tsunade slowly nodded. "Then I wouldn't doubt that this creature was the source. They said it was attacking mostly livestock – though I'm beginning to think it was more like it was hunting them."

"I don't think I understand," Tsunade replied.

"It's establishing a territory," Inuzuka continued. "Like a kit that has grown too large to remain with its parents. They leave and attempt to establish their own place in the world. And the fact that Tengu Aviary is in ruins probably means that in addition to the villages around Konoha, it was seeking to establish a place in the town itself."

"So it eliminated the competition," Tsunade nodded, starting to see the picture. "But what does it want with Hinata?"

"It needed a mate." The anger laced words came from the young man standing in the doorway, surrounded by three other genin. The elder Hyuuga showed no emotion at Neji's words. But he nodded to signify that he should continue.

"When we crossed it," Neji started, "it stated its intention clearly."

"We think," Sakura interrupted, "it's trying to create an offspring with its traits and the Hyuuuga Byakugan. So it can perfect its creation of physical beings."

"Is Hinata even old enough..." Tsunade began, looking over at Kurenai. The jounin nodded once, her lips in a thin line.

"It makes sense then," Inuzuka said. "It established its territory, now it wants to expand its pack. I don't want to think about how dangerous it will be if it completes all that."

"It won't," Neji stated. "Hinata-sama..." he paused, as if the words refused to leave his mouth. "She fought it and managed to discharge a large amount of chakra into it."

"If Ibiki's attack wasn't enough," Tsunade surmised, "then that may be the final blow."

"Which means it's even more dangerous now," Inuzuka growled. "It's wounded, possibly dying. We have very little time to find it before the worst occurs."

"Allow us to use our owls," Tengu pleaded. "Their eyesight will add in the search and they are trained to deliver messages."

Tsunade let the idea run through her mind before nodding. "Inuzuka, we'll need your dogs once more."

"We are here to serve," was the reply.

"Dispatch the Anbu to secure all entry ways into the sewers," Tsunade continued. "And Tengu, the first thing your owls need to do is track down the Hyuugas and make sure they are up to speed."

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

"We have many matters to discuss," Tsunade stated. "But first, we concentrate on retrieving Hinata and eliminating this threat." The clan head bowed and left to relay their orders. "You four," she said addressing Team 7 and Neji, "have another mission."

"I need to..." Neji started but Tsunade cut him off quickly.

"I will not have a repeat of what happened last time a genin attempted to get involved in something way beyond her abilities," she said looking at Sakura. "You will follow my orders or you will be punished."

* * *

Shikamaru watched as the assorted menagerie of animals approached his location. After leaving team seven with Neji, he had been dragged by Kakashi to help strategize the best approach to find the monster.

He had a map of the Konoha sewers as well as a pile of Shogi chips. While the people around him got a bit more organized, he placed the chips down at various locations. Kakashi leaned over him and looked at his work.

"We send the owls through the tunnels to find the Hyuuga," Shikamaru stated. "And then each of these chips represents a Tengu-Inuzuka pair, each with gas mask. Once we know where the Hyuuga are we can rearrange people a bit, but the most part this is the fastest way to search the tunnels."

Asuma reached over and ruffled his student's hair. "Told you he was smart," he said to Kakashi who merely nodded. The clan heads joined them and the plan was explained one more time.

The area was suddenly empty leaving Shikamaru to stare at the map. He knew that he had devised the best plan but it didn't make him feel better about their chances. He really wished he had just stayed in bed this morning. It would have made things so much less troublesome then they were.

But just as he was thinking that things couldn't get worse, he felt an ominous presence behind him. Turning around slowly, he came face to face with the one Inuzuka member that had not been allowed to follow his clansmen due to his personal relationship with the hostage.

Shikamaru moved a bit too slowly and took most of the punch in his shoulder instead of getting fully out of the way. He rolled a bit, just enough so that his attacker could jump on his stomach and pin him to the ground.

"You BASTARD!" Kiba yelled. "You were supposed to protect her!"

"Hey!" Asuma said, finally catching sight of the fight. He ran over and plucked Kiba off of Shikamaru, struggling to hold back the angry boy.

Shikamaru, for his part, decided that lying on the ground, staring at the sky was about the best thing he could do right now. Kiba was still yelling and continued to do so for another couple of minutes before Asuma calmed him down.

"Neji," Kiba said, voice much softer, "I would expect him to abandon her. But... not you."

Kiba pulled free of Asuma's grip and shuffled away, kicking stones while Akamaru whined at his feet. Shikamaru stood up and caught Asuma's apologetic stare. He shrugged it off and sat down by the map again, moving his shoulder to loosen the pain.

"Just make sure to warn me when Shino shows up," Shikamaru told Asuma before turning back to his work.

* * *

No matter how much her head hurt, there was one thought still there. Just keep playing dead. Hinata made sure to keep her breathing even despite the noxious scent of rotting carcasses that was slowly causing her stomach to churn.

She listened, waiting for any sound before making her move. There was a muffled voice, almost like something was crying. It took her a moment to realize that it was her captor.

Slowly, she turned to her side, making sure that she didn't make a sound. The beast was turned away, clutching something as it wept. In other circumstances, Hinata might have felt sorry for it.

"It wasn't supposed to be you," it cried. "I wanted to make you happy, not to worry about them anymore. Without her, we could have built a real aviary, one that took up the entire city." There was a long pause. Hinata watched as the shape moved a bit, two round eyes suddenly appearing in the back of its head.

It locked onto her and Hinata didn't realize her mistake until it was next to her, an arm pinning her by the neck to the wall. Her eyes teared up as the beast's breath tickled her cheek. She couldn't fight it; she was still too weak from the lack of chakra.

Something warm fell on her legs and a familiar coppery smell filled her senses. She didn't need to look down to know what it was. The monster in front of her was dying. But she doubted it would be soon enough to save her.

So there was only choice left, to stall and pray that by some miracle they found her or that it died before it could finish its plan.

"Why?" she asked, her voice trembling slightly. "Why did you try to kill Hokage-sama?"

The black mass paused for a moment and Hinata was sure it wouldn't buy into her plan. "To protect the Aviary, of course."

Hinata knew confusion dotted her face. The way the beast spoke it was as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"They wanted to stop using the birds," the monster continued. "So mother fought against them and won. But she knew it wasn't going to last. They wanted to leave us behind, use the new toys they had made instead of us."

"Konoha... wouldn't forget..."

"They wouldn't? Someone like you would think that. Hyuuga is well respected. Uchiha is mourned. But Tengu is never spoken about. They want us gone, the dog lovers especially. They plot for our demise but mother, she protected us."

Hinata understood now what the purpose behind the phantom dogs were, a ruse to try to blame the Inuzuka.

He looked at her, watching comprehension dawn on her face. "Yes, you see it all now. But you could see the phantoms and that when I realized that there was only one way to make my mother's dreams come true.

The grip around her neck tightened as anger flashed across the shifting face. "I owed mother that much. They wanted me killed but she saved me. She raised me and loved me, even like this. She loved all of us." It sobbed. "She loved all of Konoha and that's why... that's why she stopped my plan.

"Now that she's gone," it continued, "I can take my place as leader. They'll finally recognize me. I won't be the cursed offspring, I'll be the greatest Tengu there ever was. And you... you will be the one to perfect what was started."

Hinata shook her head, face turning slightly red from the lack of oxygen. She clawed at the arm, desperate as she realized was running out of time.

"Please..." she whispered.

The beast appeared to smile, about to mimic her cries when something broke his attention on her.

It sounded like a question but as the beast turned around, he realized that it was no human making that noise. An owl sat perched at the entrance, tilting its head at the scene.

"No..." the beast whispered. He dropped Hinata on the ground, leaving her gasping for air. It walked forward, arm extended to the owl. "It's all right. I'll protect you."

The owl looked at him and then at Hinata. Its eyes locked onto her and then its beak opened. It didn't call out an inquisitive hoot but rather let loose a shrill shriek that quickly echoed off the sewer walls. Hinata didn't bother to wait for the beast's reaction, she just took off running down the nearest exit.

The shrieks were getting louder and Hinata realized that it was no longer one owl making the noise. There must have been dozens in the sewers.

They're looking for me, she realized. With renewed hope, she began to run faster. The water around her feet splashed as she moved. She quickly activated Byakugan just in time to see the danger behind her.

It failed her quickly as her chakra reached dangerously close to zero. Her feet slowly came to a stop despite her attempts to keep moving. She collapsed to the ground, her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath. The water around her stilled and she looked down at it in surprise. Why was the beast not attacking?

There was a low growl and Hinata looked up, watching the grizzled form of a dog walk into view. She didn't need her Bloodline to see that this one was real. The man who followed it was obviously a member of the Inuzuka clan, followed closely by a bird-like man that must have been from Tengu.

"Hinata, don't move."

Hinata froze in place, recognizing the stern voice of her father. She didn't dare look around but she could only guess that at the other end of the tunnel, another team had arrived to block the other way.

The beast hissed, realizing the danger it was in. It turned to Hinata and lunged but came short as Hiashi grabbed it by its misshapen leg and pulled back. The dog leapt forward and grabbed her jacket by the collar, dragging her away as the pair behind him leapt into the fray.

Hinata didn't want to watch but it was impossible to drown out the sounds. At first it was anger but it slowly changed more to pleading and finally begging the Tengu with them to stop.

"We are brothers!" it screamed. "I only wanted... to rebuild the aviary."

There was silence. Hinata opened her eyes and found they had pinned it to the ground. She could see the familiar glow of chakra around her father's hand and knew what would come next.

"I only wanted to live," it whimpered just as Hiashi's hand slammed into it.

* * *

Neji was pacing, trying to wave away the doctors' attempts to check him out. Naruto was pleased with the attention, relating the story of how he had stood up to the monster all by himself. Sasuke snorted at him as he returned, holding out a glass to his sobbing teammate. He really hated it when she cried like that.

Sakura looked up and took the cup with a shaking hand. He sighed and took a seat next to her, eyeing her to make sure she wasn't about to start bawling again. When it looked okay, he ventured his question.

"Why are you crying?" he asked. "We got here in time. They said Ibiki's arm will be fine."

Sakura shook her head. "We got here in time for him, but what about Hinata?" Naruto stopped talking and Neji stopped pacing. "If we had just realized a few minutes earlier... if we had just stopped her from leaving..."

"It'll be okay, Sakura-chan," Naruto said, forcing a smile on her face. "You know, Hinata's been getting stronger since the chuunin exam. She'll be fine."

"Besides," Sasuke drawled, "if we hadn't figured things out, they wouldn't know to look for her."

Sakura looked up. "Thanks," she replied.

She was about to say something more when she caught Neji's head whipping around. Down the hall, a filthy group of shinobi was slowly making its way towards the waiting doctor.

Sakura moved first, dropping the cup of water as she ran towards the smallest one in the group. She moved faster then the doctor, almost tackling Hinata as she reached her. Hinata looked extremely surprised at the action but slowly wrapped her arms around Sakura, trying to hide her blush.

"I'm so sorry," Sakura sobbed.

"It's not your fault," Hinata whispered.

"Told you she'd be okay," Naruto said reaching them.

"Na...Naruto-kun!" Hinata squeaked, turning bright red.

"Ugh, what's the smell?" Naruto asked. Hinata's face fell and Sakura slowly backed off, realizing what it was.

"Dobe, they were in the sewers," Sasuke said.

Naruto pinched his nose a bit and looked at Sakura. She fumed over his complete lack of manners. Here Hinata was getting over a near death experience and he was making her feel worse.

While Sakura pummeled Naruto into the ground, Hinata took the chance to slink away with her rescuers. Neji eyed them from the corner, eyes settling on his uncle. The older man looked at him for a moment.

"Neji, guard the door while they check Hinata out," Hiashi said. The younger Hyuuga jumped, not expecting to be given any more responsibility when it came to the heiress. In fact, he was sure he would be punished for letting her get taken. But Hiashi ignored him and walked into the examination room with his daughter.

It was worse then being punished, Neji realized. By being told to continue his duties it was obvious that Hiashi was telling him that there was nothing he could have done against the beast. And that was more insulting then a simple punishment.

* * *

It was several weeks later before Ibiki could convince them that he was well enough to leave his home. It had been annoying to be trapped inside, but Sakura had snuck in work to him every day so he didn't go insane. She was turning out to be a great asset.

Though this brought up the uncomfortable question of what he should do next. He had taught her most of the basics and she had learned them rapidly. He knew she would be good in his line of work but he dreaded bringing up the idea to her normal sensei. It was already clear that they didn't see eye to eye.

"Ibiki-sensei!"

He turned, watching as Sakura bounded up to him. She looked different today, out of her normal outfit and in a dress. She was carrying a big box with a bow on it, clearly on her way to a birthday party.

"Is the trial over?" she asked.

Ibiki nodded, knowing that she had helped him with putting together the case against the Tengu. He shrugged his shoulders. "Not guilty on all counts," he said.

"Really? But we worked so hard on it."

"The ruling council didn't agree. Of course, it doesn't help that almost all of them had some marital connection to the Tengu family."

Sakura's eyebrows creased before she relaxed and shook her head. "It makes sense, ne? We thought they were attempting to take over the Hokage's position but Hane-sama was making sure that if word of her child got out, the rest of the Tengu family wouldn't be blamed."

Ibiki nodded. "So, off to a party?"

Sakura nodded happily. "It's Ino's birthday and... she could use some cheering up."

"That's good."

"Ne, Ibiki-sensei when's your birthday?"

"March 20. "

"We should celebrate! How old are you going to be?"

"Twenty-eight this year." Sakura's eyes opened wide and he glared at her. "Why?"

Sakura shook her head, trying to ignore Inner Sakura's outburst. She had assumed he had to be at least fifty. "Eh, no reason. I have to go or I'll be late."

She took off, stifling her giggles as she rounded the corner to Ino's house. She walked in through the front door and was almost suffocated by an excited mother who was telling her how much she had missed her.

Sakura smiled and finally disengaged herself. She had heard that Ino had been upset about what happened with the matchmaker, so much so that she hadn't been talking as much lately. As Sakura entered the backyard, she almost collided with Shikamaru. She glared at him, reminding him she hadn't forgotten why she was there.

She walked past him and up to Ino who was sitting at a table with a nervous looking Hinata who had Neji hovering a few centimeters away from her.

"Yo, Ino-pig," Sakura called out.

Ino looked up at her with a twitching eyebrow. "Forehead-girl, I don't remember inviting you."

"Blame your teammate," Sakura replied, pointing to Shikamaru, who had conveniently started to slink away. "I could leave now, but then you wouldn't get a present."

Ino frowned and reached forward for the box, depositing it on her lap. She pulled at the violet ribbon and instantly the frown on her face disappeared. She pulled out the thin metal and snapped it open, revealing a beautiful fan decorated with flowers.

"It's the most popular weapon for kunoichi," Sakura smiled. "The metal is actually sharpened so it really a weapon. There are a few scrolls in there with basic techniques."

"You can do some real damage with those," Chouji said, appearing from behind her and munching on party food.

"We can practice sometime," Sakura suggested.

"That would be... good," Ino said. She smiled a bit, a wicked glint in her eye. "Your forehead will make a great target."

Sakura smirked, glad to see the old Ino slowly coming back. "Bring it on, Ino-pig" she replied.

"Don't you two ever stop fighting?" Chouji asked but they ignored him and kept arguing until Sasuke entered and everything turned to him. Chouji wondered briefly how Shikamaru had gotten the reclusive Uchiha to come. But watching him getting pulled at by the two girls made him realize it must have been a brilliant maneuver.

He sat down and smiled at Hinata who was watching the other two girls. "Should we help him?" she asked Chouji.

He snorted and shook his head. "You don't want to get involved."

At that moment, Shikamaru made the mistake of walking back into the picture and Ino's rage turned on him, blaming him for inviting Sakura. Sakura had successfully latched onto Sasuke who was attempting to pull away, to no avail until Lee appeared and began spouting love poetry at her.

Hinata giggled and even Chouji let out a laugh at the antics. He stood up and eventually managed to stop all the squabbling just as the rest of the rookie nine appeared. Besides, Ino's mother was bringing out dinner and no one was going to interfere with that.

Hinata watched from the distance, trying to prevent her fingers from twiddling endlessly as Naruto sat across from her. It was good to feel happy again. Ever since the sewers, her family had been treating her like she was glass. Having Neji as a shadow wasn't helping things. At first she had thought maybe he was trying to repay her in his own way. But as usual, he was just trying to prove something to her father.

Here, among friends, she could almost drown out memories of the beast's final words. No matter what had happened, she wasn't sure it should have ended like that. Maybe she was naïve but she decided that all it wanted was to be acknowledged, something she understood all too well.

More then that, it just wanted the chance to live. If a mistake had been made by others, was the beast really the one who had to suffer?

"Ne, Hinata-chan, you look too serious," Naruto said suddenly, bringing the table to silence. They all looked at her and Hinata forced her hands to relax.

"I'm fine," she said softly. "I was just... thinking."

That seemed to be a satisfactory answer and the conversation resumed. Hinata made sure she listened and even participated. After all, she didn't need to think about it anymore. Next time something like this happened, she wouldn't let them destroy a living creature so easily.


End file.
